Dynamic casino tracking and optimization

ABSTRACT

Gaming establishment patrons may be categorized and responsive services and features presented whether or not the patrons (or their companions) are known. Gaming and non-gaming activities of a patron may be identified and tracked. Information from various private and/or public databases accessible by a gaming establishment, may be used for patron ranking and to determine offers, goods and services that may be targeted to a patron.

RELATED APPLICATION DATA

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/655,496, filed Jan. 19, 2007 and entitled “DYNAMIC CASINO TRACKINGAND OPTIMIZATION”, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/303,444, filed Dec. 15, 2005 now abandoned andentitled “PLAYER TRACKING ASSEMBLY FOR COMPLETE PATRON TRACKING FOR BOTHGAMING AND NON-GAMING CASINO ACTIVITY”, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 10/170,278, filed Jun. 12, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No.7,311,605 and entitled the same, which are incorporated by reference intheir entireties. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/655,496 is also acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/214,936,filed Aug. 6, 2002 and entitled “FLEXIBLE LOYALTY POINTS PROGRAMS”,which is a continuation-in part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/927,742,filed Aug. 10, 2001, and entitled the same, which are incorporated byreference in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to player tracking services andsystems.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Player tracking programs are offered at gaming establishments forvarious reasons, including the desire to attain and/or maintain aplayer's interest in game play. (Although there are many types of gamingestablishments, including casinos, cruise ships, riverboats, etc., alltypes of gaming establishments may be referred to herein as “casinos.”)Player tracking programs provide rewards to players that typicallycorrespond to the player's level of patronage, e.g., to the player'splaying frequency and/or total amount of game plays at a given casino.Player tracking rewards may include free meals, free lodging and/or freeentertainment. Some such complimentary rewards are often referred to as“comps.” Player tracking rewards may help to sustain a game player'sinterest in additional game play during a visit to a gamingestablishment and may entice a player to visit a gaming establishment topartake in various gaming activities.

Player tracking programs may be applied to any game of chance offered ata gaming establishment. In particular, player tracking programs are verypopular with players of mechanical slot gaming machines and video slotgaming machines. In a gaming machine, a player tracking program isimplemented using a player tracking unit installed in the gaming machineand in communication with a remote player tracking server.

Due to their increasing popularity, player tracking cards and playertracking programs have essentially become the de facto marketing methodof doing business at casinos. As suggested above, a player's incentivefor using the player tracking services is awards provided by the gamingmachine operator (e.g., the casino). Some incentives of a casino forproviding player tracking services is to generate “brand” loyalty,gather valuable information that may be used for marketing and providebetter customer services. This is due to the fact that the programsallow a casino to identify and reward customers based upon theirprevious game play history. In particular, a goal of the casinos is toidentify and then to provide a higher level of service to certain groupsof players identified as especially valuable to the casinos.

Gaming establishments are continually searching for new and innovativetechniques to track patron activity to improve casino operations andmarketing. Thus, while current tracking systems are adequate, they arelimited mainly to wagering game play. It would be desirable to providemore versatile player tracking methods and devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Methods and devices are provided for categorizing gaming establishmentpatrons and for providing responsive services and features, whether ornot the patrons (or their companions) are known. Gaming and non-gamingactivities of a patron may be identified and tracked. Information fromvarious private and/or public databases accessible by a gamingestablishment, may be used for patron ranking and to determine offers,goods and services that may be targeted to a patron.

Some embodiments of the invention provide a system for providing gamingservices that includes a plurality of biometric devices for obtainingbiometric data regarding people in or near a gaming establishment. Thebiometric devices are configured for communication with other devicesvia a network. The system also includes a server, comprising at leastone network interface configured for communication with the network andat least one logic device configured to do the following: obtainbiometric data regarding a person from at least one of the biometricdevices via the network interface; categorize the person with referenceto the biometric data; and determine whether to provide a benefit to theperson according to a categorization.

The logic devices may be, e.g., processors executing software that hasbeen written to provide some aspects of the present invention. At leastone logic device may be further configured to obtain player indiciaregarding the person from a database and categorize the person withreference to the biometric data and the player indicia. The database maybe, e.g., a player loyalty system database. A logic device may determinethe person's expected economic value to the gaming establishment. Theperson may be categorized and/or ranked, at least in part, according tothe expected economic value.

The system may include means for tracking the person's location whilethe person is within, or in the vicinity of, the gaming establishment.The tracking means may include means for communicating the person'slocation via the network. For example, the tracking means may comprise aradio frequency identification network.

The biometric devices may comprise, e.g., a plurality of cameras and/ora plurality of fingerprint scanners. Accordingly, the biometric data maycomprise facial image data and/or fingerprint data.

Some implementations of the invention provide a method of providinggaming services. The method includes these steps: obtaining first playerindicia regarding a person in or near a gaming establishment withoutreference to the person's voluntary participation in a player loyaltysystem; categorizing the person with reference to the first playerindicia; and determining whether to provide a benefit to the personaccording to a categorization. The player loyalty system may comprise aplayer tracking system. The benefit may comprises a comp or enhancedpersonal service.

The obtaining step may involve obtaining first player indicia regardinga person near a gaming establishment. The first player indicia mayinclude automobile indicia, clothing indicia, jewelry indicia, personalassociation indicia, tipping indicia and/or purchasing indicia. Theobtaining step may also comprise obtaining biometric data, such asfacial image data and/or fingerprint data.

The method may involve obtaining second player indicia regarding theperson (e.g., with reference to one or more databases) and categorizingthe person with reference to the first player indicia and the secondplayer indicia. The database(s) may comprise a player loyalty systemdatabase and/or a publicly available database. The step of obtainingsecond player indicia may be performed in response to first playerindicia.

The categorizing step may comprise a determination of the person'sexpected economic value to the gaming establishment. The categorizingand determining steps may be performed dynamically, e.g., in response toadditional data regarding the person and/or other persons in or near thegaming establishment. The categorizing step may comprise assigning arank to the person, the rank depending at least in part on the person'sexpected economic value to the gaming establishment.

The method may involve tracking the person's location while the personis within, or in the vicinity of, the gaming establishment. The methodmay involve associating a code with the person's data.

Alternative embodiments of the invention provide a player trackingsystem for tracking customer activity for a casino establishment havinggaming sections and non-gaming sections The system includes thefollowing elements: a plurality of player tracking media fordistribution to respective participating customers that includerespective customer IDs which are associated with respective customeraccounts; a plurality of gaming activity player tracking unitspositioned in the gaming section of the casino establishment proximatethe gaming activity which cooperates with the player tracking media tomonitor the gaming activity data of the respective customer; a pluralityof non-gaming activity player tracking units positioned in thenon-gaming section of the casino establishment proximate the non-gamingactivity which cooperates with the player tracking media to monitor thenon-gaming activity data of the respective customer; and a computersystem having a database of the respective customer accounts associatedwith respective customer IDs, and each gaming activity player trackingunit and each non-gaming activity player tracking unit coupled to thecomputer system to process the respective gaming activity data andnon-gaming activity data for each respective customer.

The non-gaming activity player tracking unit may include a wirelessinterface configured to detect the presence of a respective playertracking media in the local vicinity of the respective non-gamingsection of the casino establishment. The non-gaming sections may includea casino restaurant, a casino shop, a casino theater, a casino barand/or a casino showroom.

The non-gaming activity player tracking unit may be configured forplacement proximate the entrances and exits of selected, respectivenon-gaming sections of the casino establishment to detect at least oneof an entrance and an exit of the respective customer into and out ofthe respective non-gaming section.

The database may include a management program to update the patronmovement of the respective customers in said casino establishment over atime period. The player tracking media may comprise Radio Frequency (RF)enabled smart cards configured to generate an RF signal. The wirelessinterface may comprise an RF receiver responsive to said RF signal.

Other embodiments of the invention provide a gaming system forcommunicating with wireless gaming devices and locating wireless gamingdevices. The gaming system includes these elements: a plurality ofwireless gaming devices capable of generating wireless signals; aplurality of wireless signal receivers capable of receiving the wirelesssignals wherein at least a portion of the wireless signal receivers arelocated in gaming machines; and a location server for determining alocation of one or more of the wireless gaming devices and for trackinga status of the plurality of wireless gaming devices. The location ofthe wireless gaming device may be determined using signal triangulation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention has other objects and features of advantage whichwill be more readily apparent from the following description of the bestmode of carrying out the invention and the appended claims, when takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1A is a block diagram of a player tracking system constructed inaccordance with the present invention having gaming activity playertracking units and non-gaming activity player tracking units.

FIG. 1B is a block diagram of the components of the gaming activityplayer tracking unit and the non-gaming activity player tracking unit ofplayer tracking system of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 1C is a block diagram of the components of a Radio Frequencyenabled smart card.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a gaming machine connected to a playertracking server and a loyalty program server allowing loyalty programinstrument transactions.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the components of a loyalty programinstrument system for one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective drawing of a video gaming machine of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart depicting a method of rewarding loyalty pointsaccrued anonymously on a gaming machine.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart depicting a method for validating informationstored on a loyalty point instrument at a validation site connected to across validation network as described with reference to FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of loyalty program systems at multiple gamingproperties connected to a loyalty program transaction clearinghouseserver.

FIG. 8 is an interaction diagram for a loyalty program instrumenttransaction between a clearinghouse, loyalty program servers, andloyalty program instrument generators/validators where the loyaltyprogram instrument is generated at a different location from where it isvalidated.

FIGS. 9A-9D are block diagrams of loyalty program instruments and dataformats of the present invention.

FIGS. 10A-10C are block diagrams of RFID tags and RFID readers of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 11A-11B are block diagrams of input mechanisms with a non-physicalcontact data interface of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of footprints of non-physical contact datainterfaces of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a gaming system providing wireless dataaccess and wireless gaming device location services.

FIG. 14 depicts a simplified example of a gaming establishment andrelated devices that may be used for some implementations of theinvention.

FIG. 15A is a flow chart that outlines a method of the invention.

FIG. 15B is a table that indicates how patrons may be ranked andcategorized according to some implementations of the invention.

FIG. 16 is a flow chart that outlines a method of the invention.

FIG. 17 is a flow chart that outlines a method of the invention.

FIG. 18 is a flow chart that outlines a method of the invention.

FIG. 19 is a flow chart that outlines a method of the invention.

FIG. 20 illustrates a gaming network that may be used for someimplementations of the invention.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram of an Arbiter and other devices that may beused for some implementations of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

While the present invention will be described with reference to a fewspecific embodiments, the description is illustrative of the inventionand is not to be construed as limiting the invention. Variousmodifications to the present invention can be made to the preferredembodiments by those skilled in the art without departing from the truespirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Among other things, the present invention provides a player trackingsystem for tracking customer activity for a casino establishment havinggaming sections and non-gaming sections. The tracking system includes aplurality of player tracking cards adapted for distribution torespective participating customers of the tracking program. These cardsinclude respective customer IDs which are associated with respectivecustomer accounts. The system further includes a plurality of gamingactivity player tracking units positioned in the gaming section of thecasino establishment proximate the gaming activity. These activityplayer tracking units cooperate with the player tracking cards tomonitor the gaming activity data of the respective customer. A pluralityof non-gaming activity player tracking units are also positioned aboutthe casino establishment in the non-gaming sections thereof whichcooperate with the player tracking cards to monitor the non-gamingactivity data of the respective customer. A computer system of theplayer tracking system includes a database of the respective customeraccounts associated with respective customer Ids. Each gaming activityplayer tracking unit and each non-gaming activity player tracking unitis coupled to the computer system to process the respective gamingactivity data and non-gaming activity data for each respective customer.

Accordingly, not only is the gaming activity monitored, similar tocurrent player tracking programs, but non-gaming activity is alsomonitored. Most notably, patron movement throughout the casinoestablishment is monitored which provides the establishment with aunique ability to maximize customer service and promotions to eachcustomer based upon both the gaming activity data and non-gaming data.

In one specific embodiment, the non-gaming activity player tracking unitincludes a wireless interface configured to detect the presence of arespective player tracking card in the local vicinity of the respectivenon-gaming section of the casino establishment. This device ispreferably configured for placement proximate the entrances and exits ofselected, respective non-gaming sections of the casino establishment.Thus, the non-gaming activity player tracking unit can detect when arespective customer enters and/or exits a particular respectivenon-gaming section, such as a casino restaurant, a casino shop, a casinotheater, a casino bar or a casino showroom.

In another embodiment, the respective player tracking card is a RadioFrequency (RF) enabled smart card configured to generate an RF signal,and the wireless interface is a Radio Frequency (RF) receiver responsiveto the RF signal.

In still another specific configuration, the computer system includes amanagement program which updates a theoretical win profile for therespective customer as a function of estimated winnings from the bettingactivity of the customer at the casino establishment over a time period.

In another aspect of the present invention, a method is included fortracking customer activity at a casino establishment having gamingsections and non-gaming sections, at a casino establishment havinggaming sections and non-gaming sections. The method includes monitoringat least one gaming activity player tracking unit in the gaming sectionof the casino establishment for gaming activity data by a respectivecustomer; and monitoring at least one non-gaming activity playertracking unit in the non-gaming section of the casino establishment fornon-gaming activity data by the respective customer.

The monitoring the at least one gaming activity player tracking unitincludes detecting the presence of a respective player tracking card inthe local vicinity of the respective non-gaming section of the casinoestablishment through a wireless interface component of the non-gamingactivity player tracking unit.

In another specific embodiment, the method includes placing thenon-gaming activity player tracking unit proximate one of an entranceand an exit of a selected, respective non-gaming section of the casinoestablishment to detect one of the entrance and the exit of therespective customer into and out of the respective non-gaming section.The method may further include tracking patron movement of therespective customers in the non-gaming sections of the casinoestablishment through the non-gaming activity data, and periodicallyupdating the patron movement of the respective customers in the casinoestablishment over a time period.

Attention is now directed to FIGS. 1A and 1B where a player trackingsystem, generally designated 20, is illustrated for tracking customeractivity for a casino establishment having gaming sections 21 andnon-gaming sections 22. The tracking system 20 includes a plurality ofplayer tracking identification devices 23 adapted for distribution torespective participating customers of the tracking program. Thesedevices 23 include respective customer IDs which are associated withrespective customer accounts. The system 20 further includes a pluralityof gaming activity player tracking units 25 positioned in the gamingsection 21 of the casino establishment 26. These activity playertracking units 25 cooperate with the player tracking identificationdevices 23 to monitor the gaming activity data of the respectivecustomer. A plurality of non-gaming activity player tracking units 27are also positioned about the casino establishment 26 in the non-gamingsections 22 thereof which cooperate with the player trackingidentification devices 23 to monitor the non-gaming activity data of therespective customer. A computer system, generally designated 28, of theplayer tracking system 20 includes a database of the respective customeraccounts associated with respective customer Ids. Each gaming activityplayer tracking unit 25 and each non-gaming activity player trackingunit 27 is coupled to the computer system 28 to process the respectivegaming activity data and non-gaming activity data for each respectivecustomer.

Accordingly, this tracking system would enable the casino establishmentto monitor both gaming activity and non-gaming activity within thecasino. The conventional monitoring of gaming activity is well known,and has been successfully applied throughout the industry. Extendingsuch monitoring to other non-gaming activity, however, is relativelynew, but may prove to be just as valuable to increase revenue. Forexample, the non-gaming activity player tracking units 27 can be adaptedto monitor the entrance and/or the exit of the patron in the non-gamingsection 22 of the casino establishment. Thus, one form of non-gamingactivity monitoring would be the tracking of patron movement throughoutthe establishment in such non-gaming avenues of the casino as theater,shopping and restaurants. By recording the time of entrance and exit ofa patron in a particular store or restaurant, the casino establishmentcan monitor and analyze their tendency to shop particular stores orfrequent particular restaurants. Using the combined gaming activity dataand non-gaming activity data, promotions and customer service programscan be more customized toward the respective customer. monitored whichenables the casino establishment to better customize promotional awardsto the respective customer based upon their past attendance at theparticular non-gaming sections.

By way of example, if the non-gaming activity data revealed that aparticular patron frequently visited one of the many casino restaurantsor shops more than another, future promotions could of that restaurantcould be directed to that patron to entice future patronage. Moreover,other promotions from other casino restaurants or stores can be directedtoward that respective customer to entice patronage at those thecustomer does not frequent. The ability for casinos to track theactivity of card carrying patrons through their entire visit to casinoswould provide the establishment with a tremendous increase in data fordemographic study. Casinos, for instance, could better estimate how longit takes for a patron to begin gambling after they have entered theproperty. In other situations, the establishment could identify whichrestaurants, shops, etc. that card-carrying patrons more frequentlyvisit even if they use cash for purchases. It would literally addanother level to focusing casino operations and marketing on maximizingpatron behaviors. In addition, it could add another level to customerservice.

In still other applications, the player tracking system 20 couldidentify the participating patron through their player trackingidentification device as they entered a restaurant or shop. A host orsales consultant could then approach and greet that patron by name,offer Comps or promotions to VIP's, know what products interest them,etc.

Referring to FIG. 1B, the block diagram is provided which broadlyillustrates the computer system 28 of the player tracking system 20having a central player tracking/accounting server 30. The playertracking account server is typically configured to A) store playertracking account information relating to a player's previous game play,B) store player tracking account information relating to a player'shistorical frequency (E.g., the date and time spent) in the selectednon-gaming sections of the casino, C) calculate player tracking pointsbased on a player's game play that may be used as basis for providingrewards to the player; and D), calculate player tracking points andpromotions based on a player's frequency at the selected non-gamingsections. The system is further defined, as mentioned, by a plurality ofgaming activity player tracking units 25 to monitor the gaming activitydata received from their corresponding gaming activity interfaces. Thisgaming activity component, as will be described, is essentially providedby conventional player tracking technology. Further coupled to theplayer tracking server, in accordance with the present invention, is aplurality of non-gaming activity player tracking units 27 which monitorthe non-gaming activity data received from corresponding non-gamingactivity interface positioned at the corresponding sections.

As mentioned, the present invention includes a conventional gamingactivity component of the player tracking system similar to thosecurrently in widespread application. Briefly, as illustrated in FIG. 1A,the block diagram of a number of gaming machines with gaming activityplayer tracking units is illustrated connected to servers providingplayer tracking services. For example, in casino establishment 26,gaming machines 31, 32 and 33 are connected, via the data collectionunit (DCU) 37 to the computer system or player tracking/accountingserver 30. The DCU 37, which may be connected to up to thirty-two (32)gaming activity player tracking units as part of a local network in aparticular example, consolidates the information gathered from playertracking units in gaming machines 31, 32 and 33 and forwards theinformation to the player tracking account server 30.

In gaming machine 31 of casino establishment 26, a gaming activityplayer tracking unit 25 and slot machine interface board (SMIB) 40 aremounted within a main cabinet 41 of the gaming machine. In many types ofgaming machines, the player tracking unit is mounted within a top box 42positioned stop the gaming machine cabinet 41. Usually, player trackingunits, such as 25, and SMIBs, such as 40, are manufactured as separateunits before installation into a gaming machine 31.

Typically, the gaming activity player tracking unit 25 includes threeplayer tracking devices: a gaming activity card reader 43; a key pad 45;and a display 46, all mounted within the unit. These player trackingdevices are associated with a wired Input/Output Interface 35, and areused to input player tracking information that is needed to implementthe player tracking program. As will be described in greater detailbelow, the player tracking unit 25 may include a wireless Input/OutputInterface 36 as well. The gaming activity component of player trackingsystem 20 may be mounted in many different arrangements depending upondesign constraints such as accessibility to the player, packagingconstraints of a gaming machine and a configuration of a gaming machine.For instance, the player tracking devices may be mounted flush with avertical surface in an upright gaming machine and may be mounted flushor at a slight angle upward with a horizontal in a flat top gamingmachine.

The gaming activity player tracking unit 25 communicates with the playertracking server via the SMIB 40, a main communication board 47 and theDCU 37. The SMIB 40 allows the player tracking unit 25 to gatherinformation from the gaming machine 31 such as an amount a player haswagered during a game play session. This information may be used by theplayer tracking server 30 to calculate player tracking points for theplayer. The gaming activity player tracking unit 25 is usually connectedto the master gaming controller 48 via a serial connection using a wireserial connector and communicates with the master gaming controller 48using a serial communication protocol. The serial connection between theSMIB 40 and the master gaming controller 48 may be through the maincommunication board 47, through another intermediate device or through adirect connection to the master gaming controller 48. In general,communication between the various gaming devices is provided using wireconnectors with proprietary communication protocols. As an example of aproprietary serial communication protocol, the master gaming controller48 may employ a subset of the Slot Accounting System (SAS protocol)developed by International Game Technology of Reno, Nev. to communicatewith the player tracking unit 25.

In one particular embodiment, by way of example, when a game playerdesires to play a game on a gaming machine and utilize the gamingactivity component of player tracking system 20 available through theplayer tracking unit, a game player inserts their issued player trackingidentification device 23, such as a magnetic striped card, into the cardreader 43. Briefly, for current player tracking programs, the mostcommon approach for providing identification information is to issue amagnetic-striped card storing the necessary identification informationto each player that wishes to participate in a given player trackingprogram. It will be appreciated, however, as will be better describedbelow, that the issued player tracking identification device 23 may bewireless interfaces such as Radio Frequency (RF) enabled smart cardsand/or wireless Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) which enable wirelesscommunication with the player tracking server. Accordingly, wirelesscommunication may be provided for both the gaming activity playertracking unit 25 and the non-gaming player tracking unit 27.

After the magnetic striped or smart card has been so inserted, thegaming activity player tracking unit 25 may detect this event andreceive certain identification information contained on the card. Forexample, a player's name, address, social security number and playertracking account number encoded on the magnetic striped card, may bereceived by the player tracking unit 25. In general, a player mustprovide identification information of some type to utilize playertracking services available on a gaming machine.

Once the player has inserted her or his player tracking card into thegaming activity card reader 43, the player tracking unit 25 may commandthe touch screen display 46 to display the game player's name on thetouch screen display 46 and also, may optionally display a messagerequesting the game player to validate their identity by entering anidentification PIN code using a game service interface with analpha-numeric key pad displayed on touch screen display 46 or through aplayer tracking input keypad. For example, the player may use theirfinger, a stylus or combinations thereof to enter their identificationinformation using the touch screen sensor. Once the game player'sidentity has been validated, the player tracking information is relayedto the player tracking server 30. Typically, the player tracking server30 stores player tracking account records including the number of playertracking points previously accumulated by the player. Using this gamingactivity data, the casino establishment may monitor their gamingactivity for future promotions and customer service. Some playertracking systems, for example, incorporate management programs whichupdate and calculate theoretical win profiles for each respectivecustomer. These profiles are generally a function of estimated winningsfrom the betting activity of the customer at the casino establishmentover a time period.

Details of player tracking units with peripheral devices operated by amaster gaming controller are described in co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/838,033, filed Apr. 19, 2001, byCriss-Puskiewicz, et al, titled “Universal Player Tracking System,”which is incorporated herein in its entirety and for all purposes andco-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/642,192, filed Aug. 18,2000, by LeMay, et al, titled “Gaming Machine Virtual Player TrackingServices,” which is incorporated herein in its entirety and for allpurposes. Moreover, details of player tracking systems with wirelessplayer tracking identification devices are described in co-pending U.S.patent application Ser. No. 09/921,489, filed Aug. 3, 2001, by Hedrick,et al, titled “Player Tracking Communication Mechanisms in a GamingMachine” which is incorporated herein in its entirety and for allpurposes

With respect to the non-gaming player tracking unit 27 (FIG. 1B),wireless communication is necessary to maintain any ability to monitorpatron movement throughout the non-gaming sections 22 of the casinoestablishment without inconveniencing the customer. Thus, the non-gamingactivity player tracking unit 27 of the tracking system includes awireless interface 49 configured to locally communicate with therespective wireless identification device 23 issued to that customer. Inthis manner, movement of the patron can be detected and tracked in theselected non-gaming sections of the casino establishment withoutrequiring a manual input device in the that section. By placing thewireless interfaces at or in the vicinity of the entrances and exits ofthe selected non-gaming section, the entry into and exit, as well as thetime of entry and exit from that non-gaming section can be monitored.

The wireless interface 49, therefore, may be applied to detect orcommunicate with the identification device 23 carried by the player.These wireless identification devices 23, as mentioned, maybe providedby a Radio Frequency (RF) enabled smart card 50, which has a footprintabout the size of a player tracking card, or a portable wireless device,such as a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) carried or worn by theplayer. Accordingly, when a patron is in a non-gaming section 22 of thecasino, the respective wireless interface 49 may automatically detectthe player tracking identification device 23 carried by the player (orthey may automatically detect each other) to establish communicationsallowing presence detection and/or allowing gaming information to betransferred between the wireless devices.

By way of example, the wireless interface 49 may use a wirelesscommunication standard such as Bluetooth™ to communicate with portablewireless devices using the same standard. It will be appreciated,however, that other wireless communication protocols such as IEEE802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11x (e.g. other IEE802.11 standards),hiperlan/2, and HomeRF may also be used. Bluetooth devices communicateon a frequency of 2.45 Gigahertz. Typically, Bluetooth devices send outsignals in the range of 1 milliwatt. The signal strength limits therange of the devices to about 10 meters and also limits potentialinterference sources. Interference is also limited by usingspread-spectrum frequency hopping. For instance, a device may useseventy-nine (79) or more randomly chosen frequencies within adesignated range that change on a regular basis up to 1,600 times asecond. Thus, even if interference occurs, it is likely only to occurfor a short period of time.

When Bluetooth-capable devices come within range of one another, anelectronic conversation commences to determine whether they have datashare or whether one needs to control the other. The connection processis performed automatically. Once a conversation between the devices hasoccurred, the devices form a network. Bluetooth systems create aPersonal-Area Networks (PAN) or “piconets”. While the two or moredevices in a piconet remain in range of one another, the distancesbetween the communications devices may vary as the wireless devices aremoved about. Once a piconet is established, such as between the wirelessinterface 49 and a portable wireless device, the members of the piconetrandomly hop frequencies in unison so they remain in touch with anotherand avoid other piconets that may be operating in proximity to theestablished piconet. When Bluetooth is applied in a casino environment,many such piconets may be operating simultaneously. Details of theBluetooth™ standard and the Bluetooth™ special interest group may befound at www.bluetooth.com.

The wireless interfaces 49, therefore, should only be capable of localdetection of the player tracking identification devices 23 so that thewireless player tracking units at adjacent non-gaming sections, or eventhe same section, will not improperly detect the presence of the patron.Preferably, such localized detection should be within the range of about0.0 feet to about 10.0 feet, and more preferably in the range of about3.0 feet of the entrances into selected restaurants, shops, bars,nightclubs, theaters or any other strategic locations throughout thecasino establishment 26.

There are several conventional types of wireless technologies which maybe applied for wireless identification devices. For example, theseinclude the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Systems such as theTi-FRID systems provided by Texas Instruments Incorporated of Dallas,Tex., and the contactless smart cards by Fargo Electronics, Inc. of EdenPrairie, Minn.

As mentioned, one particularly suitable technology is a Radio Frequency(RF) enabled smart card which can be applied in both the gaming activitytracking unit 25, and the non-gaming tracking unit 27. For instance,FIG. 1C illustrates a block diagram of the components of a smart card 50that may be used in the present invention. The RF enabled smart card maybe designed for wired or wireless use with a gaming machine, gamingperipheral, gaming terminal or some other gaming device, or use with thewireless interface 49 of the tracking unit 27 situated in the non-gamingsection 22 of the casino. The smart card 50 which preferably has thesame footprint as a magnetic striped card and may include a wiredinput/output interface 51, a wireless input/output interface 52, aprocessor 53, memory 55 and a battery 56 incorporated in some manner ona card substrate 57. The battery 56 is used to supply power to operatethe devices on the smart card 50. In some embodiments, when it isinserted into a smart card reader of some type, power may also besupplied to the card by the smart card reader. The smart card 50 mayinclude an operating system of some type that is used to runapplications on the smart card. In some embodiments, the operatingsystem for the smart card 50 may be provided by Microsoft (Redmond,Wash.) or Sun Microsystems of Palo Alto, Calif. The operating system maybe used to manage the execution of gaming applications on the smartcard. The operating system and gaming applications may incorporated intothe processor 53 as firmware, stored in the memory 55 on the smart cardor may be implemented as a combination of firmware in the processor 53and stored in the memory 55. The processor 53 may be a general purposemicroprocessor or a custom microcontroller incorporating gaming specificfirmware. The memory 55 may be flash memory.

The wired Input/output interface 51 may be an I/O EEPROM or the likethat allows the smart card 50 to communicate with a smart card reader,such as card reader 43 in FIG. 1B. Further, the I/O interface 51 mayinclude one or more communication protocols that allow the smart card 50to communicate directly with a gaming machine, gaming peripheral, gamingterminal or some other gaming device designed to communicate with thesmart card. Some communication protocols may be stored in the memory 55of the smart card 50. The communication protocols stored in the memory55 may be added or deleted from the smart card 50 as needed.

In contrast, the wireless Input/output or Input interfaces 49, 36 may beprovided by a wireless smart card reader 58 which permits the smart card50 to communicate with the non-gaming activity player tracking unit 27,and/or the gaming activity player tracking unit 25 residing on a gamingmachine, a gaming peripheral, a gaming terminal or some other gamingdevice designed to communicate with the smart card. This wireless I/Ointerface 49, 36 may include one or more wireless communicationprotocols, such as the wireless communication standard Bluetooth™described above, that allow the smart card 50 to communicate with thecorresponding wireless smart card reader 58. Some communicationprotocols may be stored in the memory 55 of the smart card 50, and maybe added or deleted from the smart card 50 as needed.

In accordance with the present invention, the wireless smart cardreaders 58 of non-gaming activity player tracking units 27 arepreferably provided by strategically positioned around the casinoestablishment to track and monitor movement of the player trackingparticipating customers. In particular, for casino non-gaming sections22 such as restaurants, shops, theaters, bars or showrooms, the wirelesssmart card readers 58 are positioned proximate the entrances and/orexits into and out of the respective sections. Similar to departmentstore security devices, these localized radio receivers may include twocooperating detector devices adapted for placement on opposed sides ofeach entrance/exit. When a patron carrying an RF enabled smart cardspasses between the opposed detectors, their entrance/exit from thenon-gaming section can be recorded.

Concepts important to many embodiments of this invention include“loyalty points,” “loyalty point sessions,” and “loyalty pointsinitiation events.” Loyalty points refers to any type of points accruedfor participating in designated activities at a gaming establishment.Such establishments include casinos, hotels where gaming activities areprovided, stores where gaming activities are permitted, Internet-basedgaming activities, and the like. Designated activities include, but arenot limited to, gaming activity such as playing gaming machines, cardgames such as black jack, pai gow poker, baccarat and poker, betting onpublic event outcomes, table games such as roulette, craps, keno andlotteries, etc. Other patronage activities at gaming establishments mayaccrue loyalty points. As indicated above, loyalty points represent aform of credit accrued for patronage. The points can be redeemed for avariety of goods or services (or translated to other forms of credit)within a gaming establishment or affiliated establishment. Playertracking points are a typical example of “loyalty points.”

Loyalty point sessions are sessions during which a person is performingthe designated activity and during which loyalty points accrue. Suchsession may be delineated by a first event and a second event (such asthe “game events” described above). Importantly, loyalty point sessionscan be triggered or initiated by events that need not involveconventional player tracking initiation events (e.g., insertions ofplayer tracking cards). Thus, the person can begin accruing loyaltypoints even if he/she forgets to insert his/her player tracking card orotherwise fails to initiate a conventional player tracking session.Further, it is possible that the entire process is performed anonymouslyso that the gaming establishment never knows who is accruing the loyaltypoints—or at least not via a conventional player tracking methodology.

Because loyalty points sessions may begin without a conventional playertracking initiation event, a more general concept must be applied toinitiation of loyalty points sessions. Preferably such initiation can beautomatically detected by a gaming machine or other mechanism at agaming establishment. (Note however that some activities such as blackjack may require that a dealer or other person manually initiate thesession.) Examples of events that trigger accrual of loyalty pointsinclude a player beginning to play a particular gaming machine, a playerproviding cash or indicia of credit to a gaming machine, a useractuating a mechanism allowing anonymous gaming activity, etc. Examplesof events that can indicate the end of a loyalty points session includewinning a jackpot or other conventional gaming award, a user actuating amechanism indicating an end to the gaming activity, detecting that aparticular period of inactivity has elapsed, etc.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of gaming machines 100, 101, 102 and 103connected to a player tracking server 120 and a loyalty programinstrument server 200 allowing loyalty program instrument transactions.With the present invention, without providing a player tracking card,player tracking information or any other type of identificationinformation, a player may initiate a game play session on gaming machine100, play a number of games and receive loyalty points, such as playertracking points. The player may or may not have a player trackingaccount with the gaming establishment such as casino 150. Note that the“game play session” described here serves as an example of a loyaltypoints session.

For instance, the player may insert a bill or a bar-coded printed ticket(e.g. an EZPAY™ ticket) into bill validator 202 to register credits onthe gaming machine. When credits are registered on the gaming machine100, a logic device located on the gaming machine 100, such as mastergaming controller 104 or a logic device located the player tracking unit107, may begin to generate loyalty points, such as player trackingpoints. As another embodiment, when credits are registered on the gamingmachine 100, a remote logic device such as a logic device on the playertracking accounting server 120 or a logic device on the loyalty programinstrument server 200 may begin to accrue loyalty points. Next, theplayer, using input mechanisms 202, may make wagers on a number of gamespresented on the gaming machine and view the game outcomes on display34. Based upon a manner in which the player participates in game play onthe gaming machine 100, such as the amount wagered over a specificperiod of time, loyalty points may be awarded to the player. A rate atwhich the player accrues loyalty points may be adjusted according to thefollowing parameters (without limitation thereto): 1) the time of theday, 2) the day of the week, 3) month of the year, 4) a total amountwagered, 5) an amount of time spent playing, 6) a game denomination, 7)a promotional event and 8) a game type.

The amount of loyalty points awarded to the game player is calculated bya logic device located on the gaming machine, by a remote gaming deviceor combinations thereof. When the logic device used to calculate theawarded loyalty points is located remotely, the master gaming controller104 may transfer certain gaming machine information, such as wageramounts, to the remote logic device. For instance, when the playertracking account server 120 or the loyalty program server 200 calculatesthe amount of loyalty points awarded during a particular game playsession, the master gaming controller 104 may send game play informationto these remote gaming devices. In some embodiments, game playinformation used to calculate loyalty point awards may be sent from thegaming machine to the player tracking server 120 through the playertracking unit 107 or the information may be sent directly to the loyaltyprogram instrument server 200. In other embodiments, the master gamingcontroller 104 may calculate the loyalty points awarded during a gameplay session. Thus, the transfer of game play information to a remotegaming device may not be required.

At the end of the player's game play session, the amount of loyaltypoints awarded to the player may be stored on a loyalty point instrumentsuch as a printed ticket, a smart card, a debit card, a room key or aportable wireless device. For example, the printer 201 may print aticket voucher showing the amount of loyalty points awarded to theplayer during the game play session. The player may later validate theticket to receive the loyalty points. As another example, loyalty pointsawarded to the player may be stored on a smart card inserted into thecard reader 24. In some embodiments, the loyalty point instrument maysimply be used as a receipt to ensure that loyalty point credits earnedby the player have been correctly credited to their account.

When the loyalty point instrument is issued to the player, various typesof transaction information may be recorded on the loyalty pointinstrument and may also be stored to another memory location on thegaming machine 100, on the loyalty program instrument server 120, on theplayer tracking server 120 or some other gaming device. Examples ofstored transaction information includes an issue time, a date, aninstrument number, an instrument type, a machine number, etc., Thetransaction information stored on the loyalty point instrument andstored at the additional memory location may be compared to validate theloyalty point instrument. For instance, a player may wish to have theloyalty points stored on the ticket voucher to be later credited totheir player tracking account or to redeem the points directly for agoods and services item without crediting the player's player trackingaccount. In some cases, the player may not even have a player trackingaccount. To credit or to redeem the loyalty points stored on the loyaltypoint instrument, the transaction is first validated. Specific examplesof the loyalty point instrument validation process and other uses ofloyalty point instruments are described with respect to FIGS. 3-8.

An advantage of loyalty point instruments of the present invention isthat a player may earn loyalty points such as player tracking pointsfrom game play on a gaming machine or during other gaming activitieswithout the use of a player tracking card or without providing anyidentification information. As indicated above, if a player forgets tobring their player tracking card, loses their player tracking card,brings the wrong card, forgets to insert the card into the gamingmachine, inserts the card incorrectly into the card reader or the cardreader is malfunctioning, the player may be still earn loyalty pointssuch as player tracking points from a game play on a gaming machine. Incurrent player tracking programs, before a player can receive playertracking points, the player must always provide identificationinformation of some type, which is usually stored on their playertracking card. Thus, in any situation where player trackingidentification information is not provided by the player, such as in thecases described above where the information is obtained from a playertracking card, the player does not earn player tracking points. Thesesituations are avoided with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the components of a loyalty programinstrument system for one embodiment of the present invention. A loyaltyprogram instrument system is the hardware components and softwarecomponents needed to generate and validate loyalty program instruments.Components of an loyalty program system may include 1) data acquisitionhardware, 2) data storage hardware, 3) loyalty program instrumentgeneration and validation hardware (e.g. printers, card readers, ticketacceptors, validation terminals, etc.), 3) auditing software, 4) loyaltyprogram instrument validation software and 5) database software. Manytypes of loyalty program instrument systems are possible and are notlimited to the components listed above. A loyalty program instrumentsystem may be installed at each property utilizing loyalty programinstruments. To allow multi-site validations of loyalty programinstruments, the loyalty program instruments systems at each propertymay be linked to a loyalty program transaction clearinghouse. Therelation of multiple loyalty program instrument systems connected to aloyalty program transaction clearinghouse are described with referenceto FIGS. 4 and 5. The details of the generation and the validation ofloyalty program instruments using a loyalty program instrument system atone property are described below with reference to FIG. 3.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the loyalty programinstrument system may be implemented in conjunction with a cashlesssystem that generates cashless instruments. Thus, a single instrumentgeneration site may issue both cashless instruments and loyalty programinstruments. For example, a gaming machine may issue printed ticketswith a cash value that may be redeemed for cash or gaming credits aspart of a cashless system or a gaming machine may issue printed ticketswith a loyalty point value or a prize value that may be redeemed forgoods and services as part of a loyalty program instrument system.Further, a single generation site may issue a plurality of differentinstrument types for cashless transaction and loyalty programtransaction such as but not limited to smart cards, printed tickets,magnetic striped cards, room keys and portable wireless devices. Inaddition, a single validation site may accept and validate both cashlessinstruments and loyalty program instruments such as but not limited tosmart cards, printed tickets, magnetic striped cards, room keys andportable wireless devices. An example of a cashless system that may bemodified to implement both cashless instruments and loyalty pointinstruments with the present invention is the EZPAY™ system manufacturedby IGT of Reno, Nev.

Details of apparatus and methods used to validate a cashless instrumentsand that may be applied to the validation of a loyalty point instrumentsare described in co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 09/544,884 by Roweet al. filed Apr. 7, 2000 entitled “Wireless Gaming Environment” whichis incorporated herein in its entirety and for all purposes. Details ofapparatus and methods used to validate a cashless instrument acrossmultiple gaming properties and may be applied to the validation of aloyalty point instrument across multiple gaming properties are describedin co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 09/684,382 by Rowe filed Aug.25, 2000 entitled “Cashless Transaction Clearinghouse” which isincorporated herein in its entirety and for all purposes. Details ofapparatus and methods of using a smart card as a cashless instrument, ata single gaming property or across multiple gaming properties, that maybe applied to the use of a smart card as a loyalty point instrument, ata single gaming property or across multiple gaming properties, aredescribed in co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 09/718,974 by Rowefiled Nov. 22, 2000 entitled “EZPAY™ Smart Card and Ticket System” whichis incorporated herein in its entirety and for all purposes. Details ofproviding secure transactions for a cashless system which may applied toa loyalty program instrument system are described in co-pending U.S.application Ser. No. 09/660,984 by Espin et al. filed Sep. 13, 2000entitled “Transaction Signature” which is incorporated herein in itsentirety and for all purposes.

Returning to FIG. 3, a first group of gaming machines 365, 366, 367,368, and 369 is shown connected to a first clerk validation terminal(CVT) 360 and a second group of gaming machines, 375, 376, 377, 378 and379 is shown connected to a second CVT 370. The clerk validationterminals are used to store loyalty program transaction informationgenerated when a loyalty program instrument is issued at a generationsite such as a gaming machine. The loyalty program transactioninformation, which may be stored each time a loyalty program instrumentis issued, may include but is not limited to prize information, loyaltypoint information, an establishment, a location, a bar code, ainstrument type (e.g. ticket, smart card, room key, magnetic card,portable wireless device, etc.), an issue date, a validation number, anissue time, an instrument number, an instrument sequence number and amachine number. Also, the loyalty program transaction information mayinclude transaction status information such as whether the loyaltyprogram instrument has been validated, is outstanding or has expired.Some of the loyalty program transaction information stored in the CVTmay also be stored on the loyalty program instrument as loyalty programinstrument information. When a loyalty program instrument is validated.the information stored in the CVT and the information stored on theloyalty program instrument may be compared as a means of providingsecure loyalty program transactions.

As described with reference to FIG. 2, all of the gaming machines aredesigned or configured to accrue loyalty points during a game playsession, award a player some or all of the accrued loyalty points andstore loyalty program information to a loyalty program instrument, suchas a printed ticket, a magnetic striped card, a room key, a portablewireless device or a smart card, which is issued to the game player. Theloyalty program instruments, as part of a loyalty program available atproperty 300, may be redeemed for goods and services. In addition, thegaming machines and other loyalty program validation sites at property300 may accept loyalty program instruments issued at a differentproperty from property 300 where the different property utilizes thesame or a different loyalty program instrument system as compared toproperty 300. Details of a multi-site loyalty program instrument systemare described with respect of FIGS. 6 and 7.

A player may participate in a number of activities at the gamingestablishment of property 300 for which the player can earn loyaltypoints. For instance, loyalty points may be earned while playing a gameof chance at pit games 337, while playing one of the gaming machines, orwhile making a food purchase, an entertainment purchase, atransportation purchase, a lodging purchase, a merchandise purchase or aservice purchase at one of the other venues 338 at property 300.Further, food purchases, entertainment purchases, transportationpurchases, lodging purchases, merchandise purchases and servicepurchases that earn loyalty points for a patron may be made at venuesoutside of traditional gaming establishments but in affiliation with agaming establishment. For instance, a patron may make a food purchase ata restaurant affiliated with a gaming establishment or may makemerchandise purchase with a retailer affiliated with the gamingestablishment. After their purchase, the patron may be issued a loyaltypoint instrument with a number of loyalty points that may be redeemedfor goods, services and comps or may be later added to a loyalty pointaccount of the patron. Affiliated venues that issue loyalty pointinstruments may be linked to a loyalty program server, such as 310, viathe Internet (see FIG. 7).

As another example, a player, without providing identificationinformation such as player tracking information or comp information, maybe identified at a pit game. After rating the players manner of gameplay over a certain period of time (e.g. amount bet), the player may beawarded a loyalty point instrument storing loyalty points, such as aprinted ticket, earned during their pit game play. The loyalty pointinstrument may be later exchanged by the player for a comp, such as freemeal at casino buffet. In another embodiment, when player compinformation has been provided by the player, the loyalty pointinstrument may be used as a receipt that is designed to allow the playerto verify that their game play has been both correctly rated andcorrectly entered into the comp system.

After each activity, a player may be issued 1) a new loyalty programinstrument storing the loyalty points earned for the activity or 2) anexisting loyalty program instrument may be updated to store additionalloyalty points. For instance, the existing loyalty program instrumentmay be, a smart card, already storing loyalty points earned fromprevious activities. The smart card may be modified to store additionalloyalty points after each new activity. Accumulated loyalty pointsearned by a player and stored on a loyalty program instrument may beused to obtain goods, services and comps at various loyalty programvalidation sites at property 300, such as but not limited to: i) gamingmachines, ii) cashier stations 325, 330, 335, iii) a casino kiosk 359,iv) from a casino service person with a hand-held wireless device 358and v) at a clerk validation terminal 360 or 370.

In general user interfaces for viewing and modifying loyalty pointaccounts may be displayed on many different types of computing devicessuch as gaming machines, personal digital assistants, home computerlinked to remote site via the Internet, a kiosk located in a casino, aphone and a video display interface. In one embodiment, a video displayinterface may be a television monitor located in a hotel room. The hotelrooms may be linked by a local intranet to the loyalty program server310. A touch screen, control pad or some other input device may be usedwith the television monitor to provide input to the loyalty pointaccount user interface.

A game player may wish to use a loyalty program instrument issued duringone activity during another activity at property 300. For example, agame player may participate in a pit game 337 such as craps, roulette,black jack, etc. and may be issued a loyalty point instrument, such as aprinted ticket, with a number of loyalty points based upon the manner inwhich they participated in the activity such as an amount wagered over aparticular amount of time. Next, the player may desire to use theloyalty point instrument during another activity such as a game playsession on one of the gaming machines 365, 366, 367, 368, 369, 375, 376,377, 378 and 379. After the loyalty point instrument has been validated,as described below, the loyalty points stored on the loyalty pointinstrument may be used by the player to redeem prizes, goods, orservices available on the gaming machine. In one embodiment, forpromotional purposes, only particular prizes, goods or services may beavailable on particular gaming machines to encourage game play of thosemachines. In another embodiment, a player may redeem loyalty pointsstored on a loyalty point instrument to access a special bonus featuresor game play features on a gaming machine. For example, after the playhas been issued a printed ticket with loyalty points during oneactivity, the player may initiate a game play session on a gamingmachine by entering the printed ticket into a bill validator on thegaming machine. After ticket has been validated, as described below,some or all of the loyalty points stored on the printed ticket may beused to access a special bonus game or a special game play featureavailable on the gaming machine such as a chance to win a specialjackpot. For instance, a player may commit five hundred loyalty pointsearned from a lodging purchase, stored on a loyalty program instrument,to activate a bonus feature on a gaming machine.

In yet another embodiment, for convenience, a player may desire tocombine loyalty points earned from a plurality of activities, such asgaming machine play, pit game play, merchandise purchases, etc., andstored on multiple loyalty program instruments onto a single loyaltyprogram instrument. For example, a player may be issued a printed ticketor another type of loyalty program instrument from a gaming machineafter a first game play session. At beginning of a second game playsession, on the same or a different gaming machine, the player mayinsert the printed ticket into the gaming machine. After validating theticket, the gaming machine may add any loyalty points stored on theticket to any loyalty points earned by the player during the second gameplay session and issue a new loyalty point instrument, such as a printedticket, with combined loyalty points.

Since loyalty points may be redeemed for goods and services, the loyaltypoints may be considered as having a “cash value” of some type. Thus,since the loyalty points have a “cash value”, it is important to preventfraud, such as validating a single ticket multiple times or validating aduplicate copy of an already validated ticket, and to provide accountingmeans for tracking unvalidated and validated tickets. To prevent fraudand to provide accounting for loyalty program instruments, generationsites and validation sites for loyalty point instruments, such as butnot limited gaming machines, casino kiosks, cashier stations, clerkvalidation terminals, pit games and wireless gaming devices, may 1) whena loyalty program instrument is generated at generation site, storeloyalty program transaction information to both the loyalty programinstrument and to a memory location separate from the loyalty programinstrument and 2) when a loyalty program instrument is validated,loyalty program transaction information stored on the loyalty programinstrument may be compared with loyalty program transaction informationpreviously stored at the memory location.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a clerk validation terminal(CVT), such as 336, 360 and 370, may be connected to a number of gamingdevices that generate loyalty program instruments and the CVT may storeloyalty program transaction information each time a loyalty programinstrument is generated by one of the gaming devices connected to theCVTs issues a loyalty point instrument. For instant, CVT 360 isconnected to gaming machines, 365, 366, 367, 368 and 369 in ring 356.The gaming machines 365, 366, 367, 368 and 369 may issue printed ticketsas a loyalty program instrument. Each time one of the gaming machinesissues a printed ticket, loyalty program transaction informationdescribing the loyalty program transaction may be stored to the CVT andprinted on the ticket.

When the CVTs are not connected to one another or the gaming machinesare not linked together in some manner, a loyalty program instrumentfrom one gaming machine may be only be accepted in another gamingmachine which is in a group of gaming machines connected to the sameclerk validation terminal. For example, a loyalty program instrumentissued from gaming machine 365 might be accepted at gaming machines 366,367, 368 and 369, which are each connected to the CVT 360, but not ingaming machines 375, 376, 377, 378, and 379, which are each connected tothe CVT 370. In an analogous manner, when the cashless systems from oneproperty are not connected together then a loyalty program instrumentgenerated from gaming machine 366 may be not be used at propertydifferent from property 300.

The CVTs, 336, 360 and 370, store loyalty instrument transactioninformation corresponding to the outstanding loyalty programinstruments, including ticket vouchers, smart cards and debit cards,that are waiting for redemption. The CVTs may also store cashlessinstrument transaction information. In this embodiment, the CVTs areseparate from the gaming machine. However, the loyalty programtransaction information may be also be stored within each gaming machineor one gaming machine may functionally act as a CVT for a group ofgaming machines eliminating the need for separate CVT hardware. Inaddition, loyalty program transaction information may be stored in aloyalty program server 310. As previously described, the loyalty programserver may be an EZ PAY™ server that also supports cashless instrumenttransactions.

As described above, the loyalty program transaction information may beused when the loyalty program instruments are validated in some mannersuch as for a prize redemption or to credit the points to a loyaltypoint account. The CVTs 336, 360 and 370 may store the information forthe ticket vouchers printed by the gaming machines connected to the CVT.For example, CVT 360 stores ticket voucher information for ticketvouchers printed by gaming machines 365, 366, 367, 368, and 369. When aticket is printed out or a loyalty point instrument is issued in someother manner, loyalty program transaction information is sent to the CVTusing a communication protocol of some type from the gaming machine. Forexample, the gaming machine may send transaction information to the CVTwhich is part of the cashless system using the slot data systemmanufactured by Bally's Gaming Systems (Alliance Gaming Corporation, LasVegas, Nev.) or the slot acquisition system manufacture by IGT, Reno,Nev.

In present invention, when a player wishes to redeem a ticket or aloyalty program instrument of some other type, the player may redeemvouchers printed from a particular gaming machine at the CVT associatedwith the gaming machine or any other CVT which is part of the loyaltyprogram instrument system associated with the CVT. For example, sinceCVT 360 and CVT 370 are connected as part of a single cashless system tothe EZ pay server 310, a player may redeem loyalty program instrumentsor utilize loyalty program instruments at the gaming machines, the CVT's(336, 360 or 370), the cashiers (325, 330 and 335), the casino kiosk359, the other venues 338 or the wireless cashiers 358. To redeem aloyalty program instrument, the loyalty program instrument is validatedby comparing information obtained from the instrument with informationstored within the CVT or other gaming devices which behaves functionallyas a CVT. After the loyalty program instrument has been redeemed, theCVT marks the instrument paid in a database to prevent an instrumentwith similar information from being cashed multiple times.

Again, not all loyalty program systems may utilize CVTs, many of thefunctions of the CVT may be transferred to the cashless server,including the loyalty program server 310, eliminating the transferredfunction within the CVT. For instance, the cashless instrumenttransaction information may be stored in the loyalty program server 310instead of the CVTs. Thus, the need to store loyalty program transactioninformation within the CVT may be eliminated.

In this embodiment, multiple groups of gaming machines connected toCVTs, such as 355 and 370, and other gaming devices in the other venues338 and the pit games 337 connected to CVT 336 are linked together in across validation network 345. The cross validation network is typicallycomprised of one or more concentrators 355 which accepts inputs from twoor more CVTs and enables communications to and from the two or more CVTsusing one communication line. The concentrator 355 is connected to afront end controller 350 which may poll the CVTs for loyalty programtransaction information. The front end controller 350 is connected to anLoyalty Program server 310 which may provide a variety of informationservices for the loyalty program instrument system including accounting320, administration 315 and loyalty program account maintenance.

In this invention, the loyalty program server is a hardware and asoftware platform allowing loyalty program instruments to be utilized atall of the loyalty program validation sites (e.g. cashier stations,gaming machines, wireless cashiers and CVTs) within the single property300. The loyalty program server 310 may also be used to providemulti-site validation of loyalty program instruments via a connection311 such as a network interface to a remote loyalty program transactionclearinghouse. The loyalty program server is a communication nexus inthe cross validation network. For instance, the loyalty program server310 is connected to the cashiers, wireless devices, remote cashlessinstrument transaction clearinghouse, CVTs and the gaming machines andother gaming devices via the CVTs.

The cross validation network allows loyalty program instrumentsgenerated by any gaming machine connected to the cross validationnetwork to be accepted by other gaming machines in the cross validationnetwork 345. Additionally, the cross validation network allows a cashierat a cashier station 325, 330, and 335 to validate any ticket vouchergenerated from a gaming machine within the cross validation network 345.As an example, to redeem a loyalty program instrument for goods andservices, a player may present the instrument at one of the cashierstations 325, 330, and 335, the casino kiosk 359 or to a game servicerepresentative carrying a wireless gaming device 358 for validatingloyalty program instruments. Loyalty program transaction informationobtained from the instrument is used to validate the instrument bycomparing information on the instrument with information stored on oneof the CVTs connected to the cross validation network. In addition, whenthe loyalty program instrument was issued at another property, theinformation on the instrument may be stored at the other property. Thus,to validate the loyalty program instrument, the loyalty program server310 may have to communicate with the loyalty program transactionclearinghouse 341 via the remote connection 311 to obtain theinformation necessary to validate the instrument.

As loyalty program instruments are validated, this information may besent to audit services computer 340 providing audit services, theaccounting computer 320 providing accounting services or theadministration computer 315 providing administration services. Inanother embodiment, all of these services may be provided by loyaltyprogram server 310 which may also be an EZPAY™ server. Examples ofauditing services, which may be provided by loyalty program systemsoftware residing on the auditing computer 340 include 1) sessionreconciliation reports, 2) soft count reports, 3) soft countverification reports, 4) soft count exception reports, 5) machineinstrument status reports and 5) security access report. Examples ofaccounting services, which may be provided by cashless system softwareresiding on the accounting computer 320 include a) instrument issuancereports, b) instrument liability reports, expired instrument reports, c)expired instrument validation reports and d) instrument redemptionreports. Examples of administration services, which may be provided byloyalty program system software residing on the administration computer315 include i) manual loyalty program instrument receipt, ii) manualloyalty program instrument report, iii) loyalty program instrumentvalidation report, iv) interim validation report, v) validation windowcloser report, vi) voided loyalty program instrument receipt and vii)voided loyalty program instrument report.

In another embodiment of the present invention, two or more gamingmachines, such as 365, 366, 367, 368 and 369, may be linked together toallow loyalty points earned during the simultaneous game play of the twoor more linked gaming machines to be combined on a single loyalty pointinstrument. Thus, a single game player playing two or more linked gamingmachines simultaneously or a couple playing two or more linked gamingmachines simultaneously may be able to receive a single loyalty pointinstrument issued from one of the linked gaming machines for their gameplay on all of the linked gaming machines. In another embodiment, basedupon the combined amount of game play for two or more gaming machineslinked together, the rate of loyalty points accrued may be increased.Thus, a couple playing together on two or more linked gaming machinessimultaneously or a single person playing two or more linked gamingmachines simultaneously may be able to earn more loyalty points thanwhen playing on two or more non-linked gaming machines simultaneously.

Turning to FIG. 4, more details of using loyalty program instruments inthe context of game play on a gaming machine are described. In FIG. 4, avideo gaming machine 2 of the present invention is shown. Machine 2includes a main cabinet 4, which generally surrounds the machineinterior (not shown) and is viewable by users. The main cabinet includesa main door 8 on the front of the machine, which opens to provide accessto the interior of the machine. Attached to the main door areplayer-input switches or buttons 32, a coin acceptor 28, and a billvalidator 30, a coin tray 38, and a belly glass 40. Viewable through themain door is a video display monitor 34 and an information panel 36. Thedisplay monitor 34 will typically be a cathode ray tube, high resolutionflat-panel LCD, or other conventional electronically controlled videomonitor. The information panel 36 may be a back-lit, silk screened glasspanel with lettering to indicate general game information including, forexample, the number of coins played. The bill validator 30, player-inputswitches 32, video display monitor 34, and information panel are devicesused to play a game on the game machine 2. The devices are controlled bycircuitry (see FIG. 2) housed inside the main cabinet 4 of the machine2. Many possible games, including traditional slot games, video slotgames, video poker, video black jack, video keno, video pachinko,lottery games and other games of chance as well as bonus games may beprovided with gaming machines of this invention.

The gaming machine 2 includes a top box 6, which sits on top of the maincabinet 4. The top box 6 houses a number of devices, which may be usedto add features to a game being played on the gaming machine 2,including speakers 10, 12, 14, a ticket printer 18 which may printbar-coded tickets 20 used as loyalty point instruments or cashlessinstruments, a key pad 22 for entering player tracking information, aflorescent display 16 for displaying player tracking information, a cardreader 24 for entering a magnetic striped card containing playertracking information. Further, the top box 6 may house different oradditional devices than shown in FIG. 4. For example, the top box maycontain a bonus wheel or a back-lit silk screened panel which may beused to add bonus features to the game being played on the gamingmachine. During a game, these devices are controlled and powered, inpart, by circuitry, such as a master gaming controller, (See FIG. 2)housed within the main cabinet 4 of the machine 2.

Understand that gaming machine 2 is but one example from a wide range ofgaming machine designs on which the present invention may beimplemented. For example, not all suitable gaming machines have topboxes or player tracking features. Further, some gaming machines havetwo or more game displays—mechanical and/or video. And, some gamingmachines are designed for bar tables and have displays that faceupwards. Still further, some machines may be designed entirely forcashless systems. Such machines may not include such features as billvalidators, coin acceptors and coin trays. Instead, they may have onlyticket readers, card readers and ticket dispensers. Those of skill inthe art will understand that the present invention, as described below,can be deployed on most any gaming machine now available or hereafterdeveloped.

Returning to the example of FIG. 4, when a user wishes to play thegaming machine 2, he or she inserts cash through the coin acceptor 28 orbill validator 30. In addition, the player may use a cashless instrumentof some type to register credits on the gaming machine 2. For example,the bill validator 30 may accept a printed ticket voucher, including 20,as an indicia of credit. As another example, the card reader 24 mayaccept a debit card or a smart card containing cash or creditinformation that may be used to register credits on the gaming machine.In addition, the player may use a loyalty program instrument, such assmart card, ticket voucher, or debit card, to register previouslyaccumulated loyalty points on the gaming machine. Typically, theinformation contained on the cashless instrument or loyalty pointinstrument, including the ticket voucher, smart card or debit card, isvalidated by a cashless system or loyalty program system. As describedabove, the cashless system and loyalty program may be a single orseparate systems in the present invention. The loyalty programinstrument, including but not limited to a ticket voucher, smart card ordebit card, may have been generated at the same property, for example afirst casino where the gaming machine 2 is located or the instrument mayhave been generated at another property for example a second casino.

As described above, on a gaming machine, loyalty points may redeemed fora number of purposes such as to access a special bonus feature availableon the gaming machine or to obtain goods and services. The loyaltyprogram instrument typically contains information used to registerloyalty points on the gaming machine, including gaming machine 2, andvalidate the registration transaction. For example, when a ticketvoucher is used as a loyalty program instrument, the printed ticketvoucher may contain information including but not limited to: 1) aticket value, 2) a ticket issue date, 3) a ticket issue time, 4) aticket transaction number, 5) a machine ID, 6) a ticket issue locationand 7) a ticket sequence number. Information such as the ticket value,the ticket issue date, the ticket issue time, the ticket number and themachine ID may be common to loyalty program systems that generate andvalidate tickets issued at a single property. However, information suchas the ticket issue location and other information may be needed toallow multi-site generation and validation of loyalty programinstruments. In addition, other types of information, besides theinformation listed above, may be stored on the loyalty programinstrument. For example, the ticket may contain information regarding apromotional prize that may be redeemed for loyalty points by the playerwhen the ticket voucher is utilized in the gaming machine 2. As anotherexample, the ticket may contain information such as a number ofadditional loyalty points that are needed to obtain a particular goodsor services item.

The information on the loyalty program instrument may be recorded on theloyalty program instrument when the loyalty instrument is generated. Forexample, in the case of the ticket voucher, the generation of the ticketvoucher may refer to the actual printing of the ticket voucher on paperor some other medium. A unique bar-code may be printed on the ticketvoucher which may be read with a bar-code scanner to obtain informationfrom the ticket. The ticket voucher, including 20, may be printed from aprinter, including printer 18. In the case of the smart card or debitcard, the generation of the smart card or debit card refers to storingor encoding this information on the smart card or debit card. Thegeneration of the debit card or smart card may occur when the smart cardor debit card is inserted into the card reader 24 in the gaming machine2 or at another site where smart cards or debit cards are issued. Forexample, smart cards or debit cards may be generated at ATM liketerminals, at a cashier station when a player cashes out or prepaidsmart cards or debits may be purchased within the gaming property (e.g.casino). As another example, the gaming machine may transfer loyaltypoint information to portable wireless device worn by the player via awireless interface (not shown) on the gaming machine 2. After game playsession where an amount of loyalty points have been awarded to theplayer, the amount of loyalty points awarded to the player and any otherloyalty points input into the gaming machine may be downloaded to theportable wireless device worn by the player via the wireless interface.

A game play session where loyalty points are accrued by the mastergaming controller on gaming machine 2 or by another logic device locatedon the gaming machine 2 may occur after a particular game eventinitiated by a game player. For example, a loyalty point session, whereloyalty points are accrued, may be triggered by one or more of thefollowing game events: a) depositing an indicia of credit into thegaming machine [e.g., inserting a cashless instrument into the cardreader 24], b) inserting a bill or a cashless instrument into the billvalidator 30, or inserting a coin in the coin acceptor 28, c) activatingan input button on the gaming machine [e.g., input buttons 32], d)inputting a loyalty program instrument into a gaming device on thegaming machine [e.g. inserting an instrument in the bill validator 30 orthe card reader 24], e) entering a code into the gaming machine [e.g.,via the key pad 22 or via a touch screen] and f) combinations thereof.In the present invention, when the gaming machine has not receivedidentification information from the gaming player, such as but notlimited to a player tracking account information, loyalty points may bestill be accrued during the game play session. The game play sessionwhere loyalty points are accrued may end following another game eventsuch as but not limited to i) detecting zero credits registered on thegaming machine, ii) the gaming machine remaining idle for an amount oftime, iii) detecting a tilt condition or detecting an error condition onthe gaming machine, iv) detecting a game player's request for a loyaltyprogram instrument and v) combinations thereof. After the loyalty pointsession ends, some or all of the loyalty points accrued during thesession may be awarded to the game player. The loyalty points may beawarded to the player by storing the points to a loyalty programinstrument which is issued to the player or the awarded points may becredited to the player's player tracking account after the playerprovides identification information to the gaming machine.

During the course of a game play session, a player may be required tomake a number of decisions, which affect the outcome of one or moregames played during the game play session. For example, a player mayvary his or her wager on a particular game, select a prize for aparticular game, or make game decisions which affect the outcome of aparticular game. The player may make these choices using theplayer-input switches 32, the video display screen 34 or using someother device which enables a player to input information into the gamingmachine. During certain game events, the gaming machine 2 may displayvisual and auditory effects that can be perceived by the player. Theseeffects add to the excitement of a game, which makes a player morelikely to continue playing. Auditory effects include various sounds thatare projected by the speakers 10, 12, 14. Visual effects includeflashing lights, strobing lights or other patterns displayed from lightson the gaming machine 2 or from lights behind the belly glass 40.

After the player has completed a game play session, a loyalty programinstrument or cashless instrument may be generated at the gaming machine2. The loyalty program instrument or cashless instrument may be aprinted ticket voucher, a smart card, debit card or other cashlessmedium. Prior to issuing the instrument, the loyalty points awarded tothe player may be displayed on the main display 34, the secondarydisplay 42 or the player tracking display 16. Also, a prize menu may bedisplayed on one or more displays on the gaming machine 2 such as themain display 34, the secondary display 42 or the player tracking display16. The prize menu may include one or more goods and services items. Toredeem a particular prize, a particular amount of loyalty points isneeded. As service items, the game player may be able to convert theawarded loyalty points to frequent flyer miles, obtain a free meal withthe loyalty points or obtain a free nights lodging with the loyaltypoints. As an example of goods items, a player may be able to redeemloyalty points for clothes, food items, electronic goods, etc.

In some embodiments, the player may transfer the awarded loyalty pointsto a player tracking account. After providing account information (e.g.,by inserting a player tracking card), the player tracking points may betransferred to a player tracking account of the player directly on thegaming machine (see FIG. 5). In other embodiments, the player may creditplayer tracking points or loyalty points, stored on a loyalty pointinstrument, to a player tracking account 1) over the phone, 2) at aclerk validation terminal, 3) at a cashier station, 4) at a casinokiosk, 5) via a web-interface, 6) via mail or 7) through a hand-heldwireless device.

The game player may select one of the goods and services items from theprize menu using an input mechanism of some type. For instance, theprize menu may be displayed on a touch screen and the player may touchthe screen to select one of the goods and services items. When theamount of loyalty points required to redeem the selected prize is lessthan an amount of loyalty points available on the gaming machine, aloyalty program instrument containing the prize instrument may beissued. For instance, when loyalty points are redeemed for a free meal,the player may be issued a ticket 22 from printer 18 which may be usedto obtain a free meal when presented at one or more restaurants listedon the ticket.

In some embodiments of the present invention loyalty points accruedduring the game play session may be combined with previously earnedloyalty points to redeem a prize. Thus, loyalty points stored in one ormore of a player's loyalty program accounts, such as a player trackingaccount, or loyalty points earned during other activities stored on oneor more loyalty program instruments available to the player may be usedto redeem prizes on the gaming machine. For instance, the player mayinsert five printed tickets containing various amounts of loyalty pointsinto the gaming machine 2 using the bill validator 30. After each tickethas been validated, as described with reference to FIG. 3, the loyaltypoints stored on each ticket may be added to the amount loyalty pointsavailable on the gaming machine. As another example, the player mayrequest that loyalty points be deducted from a loyalty program accountsuch as a player tracking account. In this case, the gaming machine maysend a message to remote server storing the loyalty point accountinformation and request that some amount of loyalty points be deductedfrom the player's account. Assuming the amount of requested points isavailable, the requested points may be deducted from the player'saccount and then transferred to the gaming machine. Finally, the methoddescribed above, may be implemented when the player has not accrued anyloyalty points during a particular game playing session. For instance,the player may desire to redeem a prize using one or more loyaltyprogram instruments storing loyalty points previously earned by the gameplayer.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a single instrument maystore both cash transaction information and loyalty program information.For instance, a smart card may be used to load credits onto a gamingmachine and cash out an award from the gaming machine. Also, the smartcard may be used to store loyalty program information generated duringone or more of a player's game playing activities. Further, the smartcard may store prize information for a prize redeemed at a gamingmachine using loyalty points accrued by the game player.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart depicting a method of rewarding loyalty pointsaccrued anonymously on a gaming machine. In 500, a gaming machinereceives an input of some type from a game player that has not providedany identification information, such as player tracking information. Theinput, which may be a number of different gaming events, as describedwith reference to FIG. 4, such as the player depositing a indicia ofcredit into the gaming machine, triggers a game play session on thegaming machine where loyalty points may be accrued. In 505, a game playsession is presented on the gaming machine which may include the playerwagering on a number of different games of chance and game outcomepresentation corresponding to each wager. For instance, the player maymake 5 different wagers on 5 slot games presented on the gaming machine.In 510, a gaming event triggers the end of the game play session and anamount of loyalty points accrued during the game play session aredetermined. The gaming event ending the game play session may be but isnot limited to 1) detecting zero credits registered on the gamingmachine, 2) the gaming machine remaining idle for an amount of time, 3)detecting a tilt condition or detecting an error condition on the gamingmachine, and 4) detecting a game player's request for a loyalty programinstrument. A rate at which the player accrues loyalty points during thegame play session may vary according to one or more of a time of day,days of a week, months of a year, an amount wagered, a gamedenomination, a promotional event, a game type and a rate of wagering.After the amount of loyalty points accrued during the game play sessionhave been determined, some or all of the accrued loyalty points may beawarded to the game player. For instance, a player that does not have aloyalty program account may be awarded a higher fraction of the accruedpoints than a player that already has an account to encourage the playerwithout an account to sign up for a new account.

In 515, the gaming machine may display the amount of loyalty pointsaccrued during the game play session to one or more display screens onthe gaming machine (see FIG. 4). In 517, the player may be offered theoption to exchange loyalty points for a prize of some type such as goodsor services. In 520, when a prize redemption is requested, a prize menumay be displayed to one or more display screens on the gaming machine.The prize menu may contain a list of prizes available and a number ofloyalty points corresponding to each prize that must be redeemed toobtain each prize. In 525, a player may select a prize. In 530, when theplayer does not have enough loyalty points available to obtain theprize, the prize menu in 520 may be redisplayed and the player may beasked to make another selection or given an option to exit from themenu.

In one embodiment, the player may be given the option (not shown) ofviewing loyalty point account information from a loyalty point accountsuch as a player tracking account available to the player. In this case,the player may enter loyalty program account information into the gamingmachine using some method. For example, the game player may insert aplayer tracking card into a card reader on the gaming machine and typein an identification number corresponding to the card such as a PINnumber. When the card has been validated, the player may view playertracking account information. Next, to redeem a prize requiring acertain number of loyalty points, when a player does not have enoughloyalty points available on the gaming machine, the player may requestthat loyalty points be transferred to the gaming machine from a remoteloyalty point account. The gaming machine may send a request for anamount of loyalty points to a remote server. When the loyalty pointtransaction has been approved, the remote server may send the requestedloyalty points to the gaming machine and delete the requested pointsfrom the player's account. Then, the transferred loyalty points may beadded to loyalty points already available on the gaming machine and usedto redeem a prize.

In 535, when a prize selection has been made and there are enoughloyalty points available on the gaming machine to redeem the prize, aprize instrument may be issued to the game player. For instance, thegaming machine may print a ticket for a free meal at a restaurant. Theissued ticket may be taken to a restaurant and, after the ticket hasbeen validated, used to obtain a free meal.

In 540, after a prize redemption and points are still remaining, theplayer may be given the option, in 518, of updating a remote loyaltyaccount with the remaining points. When a player does not request aprize redemption, the player may be directly presented the option toupdate a remote loyalty point account with some or all of the pointsawarded during the game play session. In 519, the player may enterloyalty program account information into the gaming machine using somemethod. For example, the game player may insert a player tracking cardinto a card reader on the gaming machine and type in an identificationnumber corresponding to the card such as a PIN number. In 521, when theloyalty program account information has been validated by the remoteserver, the gaming machine may send a request to the remote serverrequesting that an amount of loyalty points awarded to the player beadded to the player's loyalty program account.

In 545, when loyalty points remain on the gaming machine, the gamingmachine may issue a loyalty point instrument storing the remainingloyalty points. For instance, the gaming machine may issue a printedticket voucher redeemable for a certain amount of loyalty points. In550, the gaming machine may store to a local database residing on thegaming machine loyalty program transaction information for one or moreloyalty program transactions performed by the gaming machine such as butnot limited to 1) loyalty point awards, 2) prize redemptions, 3)requests for loyalty program account information, 4) requests to addloyalty points to remote account, 5) requests to delete loyalty pointsfrom a remote account and 6) information regarding issued loyalty pointinstruments. In 550, loyalty program transaction information may also besent to a remote server in lieu of storing the information on the gamingmachine or in conjunction with storing the information on the gamingmachine.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart depicting a method for validating informationstored on a loyalty point instrument at a validation site connected to across validation network as described with reference to FIG. 3. In theembodiment shown in the figure, a loyalty point instrument is validatedin a manner consistent with an EZPAY™ cashless system. In 600, a requestfor game service transaction information read from a loyalty pointinstrument is sent via a network interface on the gaming devicevalidating the instrument to a loyalty program server. The gaming devicemay be a gaming machine, a casino kiosk, a hand-held wireless device ora CVT. In 605, the server identifies which gaming device owns theinstrument. When a gaming device owns an instrument, the gaming devicehas stored information regarding the status of a particular instrumentissued from a instrument generation site connected to the gaming device.As an example, as described with reference to FIG. 3, the gaming devicemay be a CVT connected to a number of gaming machines that generateloyalty program instruments. In 610, the server sends a request tovalidate the instrument to the gaming device identified as the owner ofthe instrument. Typically, the validation request indicates a service onthe instrument has been requested. For instance, for a loyalty programticket, a validation request may mean a request to access the loyaltypoints stored on the ticket has been made. For a loyalty program ticketvalid for a free meal, a validation request may mean a request to obtainthe meal has been made. In 615, the instrument owner receives thevalidation request for the instrument and marks the instrumenttransaction pending. While the instrument transaction is pending, anyattempts to validate a loyalty program instrument with similarinformation is blocked by the instrument owner.

In 620, the instrument owner sends back a reply with context informationto the server. As an example, the context information may be the timeand place when the instrument was issued. The information from theinstrument owner to the server may be sent as one or more date packetsaccording to a communication standard shared by the instrument owner andserver. In 625, after receiving the validation reply from the instrumentowner, the server marks the validation request pending and sends avalidation order to the gaming device validating the instrument. Whilethe validation request is pending, the server will not allow anotherinstrument with the same information as the instrument with thevalidation request pending to be validated.

In 630, the gaming device may chose to accept or reject the validationorder from the server. For instance, using a security protocol, thegaming device may determine the validation order is invalid. As anotherexample, an employee using a gaming device to validate loyalty programinstruments may decide not to validate an instrument for some reason.When the gaming device accepts the validation order from the server, in640, the gaming device sends a reply to the transaction serverconfirming that the transaction has been performed. The loyalty programserver marks the request validated or completed which prevents anotherinstrument with identical information from being validated. In 645, theserver sends a confirmation to the instrument owner which allows theinstrument owner to mark the request from pending to validated. When thegaming device rejects the validation order from the server, in 650, thegaming device sends a reply to the server to mark the validation requestfrom pending to unvalidated. When the instrument transaction is markedunvalidated, it may be validated by another gaming device at a latertime. In 655, the server sends the reply to the instrument transactionowner to mark the validation request from pending to unvalidated whichallows the instrument to be validated later.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of loyalty program systems at multiple gamingproperties connected to a loyalty program transaction clearinghouseserver. At least three gaming devices, a loyalty program server 310 atproperty 300 (described with reference to FIG. 3), a loyalty programserver 710 at property 700 and one or more gaming devices along a routevenue 702, may communicate with the loyalty program transaction clearinghouse server 341. The route may comprise a plurality of gaming machinesor other devices issuing loyalty program instruments located in variousvenues such as stores and bars. The example is for illustrative purposesonly, as many different combinations of gaming devices using differentnetwork topologies may be connected to the loyalty point instrument andprize clearinghouse 341. At property 300, one or more gaming machines,such as gaming machine 369, send loyalty program transaction informationto the clerk validation terminal 360. The CVT 360 sends information tothe loyalty program server 310 which may also be cashless server anddata acquisition system. In this embodiment, the functions of thecontroller 350 and concentrator 355, as described with reference to FIG.3, are combined into the loyalty program server 310. The loyalty pointinstruments used on property 300 may be smart cards, magnetic cards,ticket vouchers, room keys, debit cards, portable wireless devices andcombinations thereof.

The loyalty program server 310 contains a network interface used to sendinformation on loyalty point instruments generated on property 300 tothe clearinghouse server 341 or request information 300 from theclearinghouse server 341 on loyalty point instruments issued at otherproperties that are being validated at property, including instrumentsissued at property 700 and venues along route 702. The loyalty programtransaction information sent to the loyalty program server 310 from theclearinghouse server 341 and received by the clearinghouse server fromthe loyalty program server 310 is transmitted via the network connection311. Further, details of information transmitted between a cashlessserver and a cashless clearinghouse server in regards to multi-propertycashless instrument validation as well as server hardware, which may beapplicable to multi-property loyalty program instrument validation, aredescribed in U.S. application Ser. No. 09/684,382 by Rowe filed Aug. 25,2000 entitled “Cashless Transaction Clearinghouse.”

At property 700 gaming machines, such as gaming machine 769, and othergaming devices located at other venues 738, such as a loyalty pointinstrument generation site at a pit game, are connected to the loyaltyprogram server and data acquisition system 710 via the local network712. The local network 712 may be a wireless or wired connection systemincluding fiber, copper or wireless cellular, combinations of all threeor other connection systems. A separate CVT is not shown in thisembodiment. The functions of the CVT including storage of loyaltyprogram transaction information may be built into one or more the gamingmachines including 769 or may be built into the loyalty program server710. The information sent to the loyalty program server 710 from theclearinghouse server 341 and received by the clearing house server 341from the loyalty program server 710 is transmitted via the networkconnection 711. Along the route venue 702, one or more gaming machineand other gaming devices located in a plurality of properties send andreceive loyalty program transaction information for the clearinghouse341 via an Internet connection 712.

Components of the transaction clearinghouse server 341 may include 1) amemory storage unit for storing loyalty program transaction informationin a transaction database, 2) a functional router enabling communicationbetween the clearinghouse server and different properties, 3) a logicdevices such as one or microprocessors, 4) a memory containing softwarefor implementing the clearinghouse functions and 5) a network interface.The transaction database may contain on-going and past loyalty pointinstrument transactions processed using the clearinghouse server. Thetransaction database may be implemented using Microsoft NT (Microsoft,Redmond, Wash.) and SQL (server query language). The loyalty programservers, including 310 and 710, may also utilize this databasetechnology.

Loyalty program instrument transaction information for two or moregaming properties may be stored in the clearinghouse server transactiondatabase. The properties may be owned by the same or different gamingestablishments. The transaction database may be accessed remotely by theproperties, including 300 and 700, utilizing the clearinghouse server341. Further, the transaction database may be used with analysissoftware to analyze transactions routed through the clearinghouse server341.

The requirements associated with accounting and reporting of the loyaltyprogram instrument information may be dependent on the regulationswithin a particular gaming jurisdiction. That being the case, the systemis adaptable to those particular regulations. In general, a loyaltyprogram instrument with an award amount may be considered to beanalogous to a personal check written by the property where it wasgenerated. When the loyalty program instrument is validated, it isessentially cashed. This implies that the property where the cashlessinstrument was generated must maintain a database of data related tothose loyalty program instruments that were created on its property.This is analogous to maintaining a bank account whose sole purpose is tocover the loyalty program instruments that were generated at theproperty. This property is usually responsible for maintaining itsloyalty program instrument database and validating loyalty programinstruments. When a request to validate a loyalty program instrument isreceived by the loyalty program system at a particular gaming property,the property has the option of validating or rejecting the request. Oncethe property validates the loyalty program instrument, it is typicallythe responsibility of that property to insure its own loyalty programinstrument transaction database is updated. At that time, the propertywhich generated the loyalty program instrument, may transfer the fundsto the property requesting the validation. The fund transfers may occurwith each transaction or could be compiled in a batch to cover multipleinstrument validation transactions on a periodic basis, e.g., once anight. The transaction clearinghouse may facilitate all associatedelectronic fund transfers (EFTs) and acts as a third party between theparties.

FIG. 8 is an interaction diagram for a loyalty program instrumenttransaction between a clearinghouse, loyalty program servers, andloyalty program instrument generators/validators where the loyaltyprogram instrument is generated at a different location from where it isvalidated. In 804, awarded loyalty points are generated on a loyaltyprogram instrument at a loyalty program instrument generation site 802at property 300. The loyalty program generation site may include but isnot limited to a gaming machine, a clerk validation terminal, a wirelessvalidation terminal, a casino kiosk and a cashier station. The loyaltyprogram instrument may include a printed ticket voucher (e.g. EZPAY™ticket), a smart card, a debit card, a room key and a portable wirelessdevice. In 806, when the loyalty program instrument is generated,loyalty program transaction information, including but not limited to 1)a value, 2) an issue date, 3) an issue time, 4) a transaction numberunique to the transaction, 5) a machine ID that generated the loyaltyprogram instrument, 6) an issue location and 7) an instrument sequencenumber, may be transmitted to the loyalty program server 310. Theloyalty program instrument transaction information is also stored on theloyalty program instrument when the loyalty program instrument isgenerated in 804. In 808, the loyalty program server 310 may store theloyalty program instrument transaction information in a database. Thetransaction information stored in the database is used when the loyaltyprogram instrument is validated. The validation process may be invokedwhen the loyalty program instrument is redeemed for a prize or when theloyalty program instrument is used in a gaming machine or other devicethat accepts the loyalty program instrument. The validation processinvolves comparing the loyalty program instrument transactioninformation stored on the loyalty program instrument with the loyaltyprogram instrument transaction information stored in the loyalty programserver database.

In 810, a game player takes the loyalty program instrument generated atproperty 300 to property 700. In 812, the game player presents theloyalty program instrument for a prize redemption at a loyalty programtransaction validation site 800 at property 700. The loyalty programtransaction validation site may include a gaming machine, a cashierstation, a clerk validation terminal, a wireless validation device andany other devices which accept loyalty program instruments. Forinstance, when a debit card is used as the loyalty program instrument,the game player may be able to directly deposit the awarded loyaltypoints on the debit card into a loyalty program account, such as aplayer tracking account, accessible to the game player. In 814, avalidation request is sent from the loyalty program transactionvalidation site 800 to the loyalty program server 710. The validationrequest may be an information packet containing the transactioninformation stored on the loyalty program instrument in 804 and storedin the loyalty program server database in 808.

In 816, the loyalty program server 710 may check the local loyaltyprogram transaction database on the loyalty program server 710 todetermine if the loyalty program instrument was generated at property300. The loyalty program server may check the local loyalty programtransaction database in a number of ways to determine whether atransaction record for the loyalty program instrument resides in thedatabase. The database search technique may depend on what informationis stored in the local database and what information is stored on theloyalty program instrument. When the loyalty program instrument wasgenerated at a property using a different loyalty program system thanthe property where the loyalty program instrument is validated, the typeand amount of loyalty program instrument transaction information storedon the loyalty program instrument may differ from the type and amount ofloyalty program transaction information stored on the local loyaltyprogram transaction instrument database. Thus, the search technique maydepend on determining a common set of transaction information stored onthe loyalty program instrument being validated and stored in the loyaltyprogram transaction database. For instance, when the loyalty programinstrument contains a machine ID and the loyalty program transactiondatabase stores a list of all the local machine IDs, the loyalty programserver 710 may search the local loyalty program transaction database todetermine whether the loyalty program instrument was generated on one ofthe local machines at the property 700. As another example, when theloyalty program instrument contains transaction information on theproperty where the loyalty program instrument was generated or the ownerof the loyalty program instrument (e.g. the owner of the property), theloyalty program server 710 may quickly determine whether the loyaltyprogram instrument was generated at the local property 700.

In 818, when the loyalty program instrument was not generated locally,the loyalty program server 710 may mark the validation request pendingin a local database and send a request for validation to the centralclearinghouse 341 in 820. The request for validation from the loyaltyprogram server 710 to the loyalty program instrument transactionclearinghouse 341 may contain all or some subset of the informationstored on the loyalty program instrument being validated. In addition,the request for validation may contain information about the loyaltyprogram transaction validation site. For example, the identificationinformation about the loyalty program transaction validation site 800,the property 700 where the loyalty program transaction validation siteis being validated and the owner of the may be included in the requestfor validation message.

As in 814, the request for validation in 820 may be an informationpacket of some type sent using a pre-determined communication protocolbetween the loyalty program server 710 and the central clearinghouse341. The communication protocol used to transmit transaction informationbetween the loyalty program transaction validation site 800 and theloyalty program server 710 in 814 may be the same or different than thecommunication protocol used to transmit the transaction informationbetween the loyalty program server 710 and the loyalty programinstrument transaction clearinghouse 341 in 820.

In 822, the loyalty program transaction clearinghouse determines theowner of the loyalty program instrument (e.g. the property where theloyalty program instrument was generated). The clearinghouse 341determines the owner based upon information received in the validationrequest in 820 and based upon information stored in the clearinghouse341. In 824, using routing information stored within the clearinghouse341, a request for validation is sent from the clearinghouse 341 to theproperty where the loyalty program instrument was generated (i.e.property 300 in this embodiment). The request for validation is aninformation packet in a communication protocol of some type. Thetransaction information contained within the information packet issufficient to allow the loyalty program server 310 at the loyaltyprogram generation site 802 at property 300 to validate the loyaltyprogram instrument. The communication protocol used to transmit thetransaction information between the loyalty program server 310 and theclearinghouse 341 in 820 may be the same or different than thecommunication protocol used to transmit the transaction informationbetween the loyalty program instrument transaction clearinghouse 341 andthe loyalty program server 710 in 824. For example, the communicationprotocols may be different when the loyalty program system used atproperty 700 is different from the loyalty program system used atproperty 300.

In 826, the loyalty program server 300 checks the local loyalty programinstrument transaction database to confirm the request for validationreceived in 824 is valid. When the transaction is valid (e.g. theloyalty program instrument was generated at property 300 and has notbeen previously validated), in 831, an approval message may be sent fromthe loyalty program server 310 to the clearinghouse 341, in 832, theclearinghouse may forward or generate the approval message to theloyalty program sever 710, in 834, the loyalty program server 310 mayforward or generate the approval message to the loyalty programtransaction validation site 800. In 828, the loyalty program server mayrepresent the transaction as a debit and cover the debit by allocatingor transferring funds to an account used to cover debits. For example,each loyalty point may be assigned a pre-determined value such as a$0.01 US dollars. In 830, the loyalty program server 310 may send anElectronic Fund Transfer (EFT) to cover the debit to the clearinghouse341. The EFT may be sent after each transfer or may be sent as a batchat the end of some time period, e.g. at the end of each day.

In 836, the validation site 800 at property 700, performs an appropriateoperation when the validation is approved. For example, when thevalidation site 800 is a gaming machine, loyalty points may be posted onthe gaming machine. As another example, when the validation site 800 isa cashier station, the player may receive a prize according to the valueof the loyalty program instrument.

In FIGS. 9-13, apparatus and methods are described that allows gaminginformation for gaming services, such as but not limited to anonymousloyalty program session, a non-anonymous loyalty program session andcashless transactions to be entered into a gaming machine. The apparatusand methods employ a non-physical contact data interface that allows fordata to be read from a loyalty program instrument without physicalcontact between the data interface and the loyalty program instrument.As was described with respect to FIG. 2, examples of non-physicalcontact data interface include a bar-code scanner and a wirelessinterface.

In providing a loyalty program session, the use of a non-physicalcontact data interface to read data from a loyalty program instrumentprovides many advantages over a card reader and a magnetic striped card.The card reader and a magnetic striped card are commonly employed inproviding a player tracking session on a gaming machine. The datainterface in a card reader requires physical contact between a magnetichead and the magnetic-stripe on the card to read data from the card.Details of reading data from a magnetic striped card are described nextand then details of input mechanisms using a non-physical contact datainterface to read data from a loyalty program instrument are describedwith respect to FIGS. 9-13.

When a magnetic striped card is used in a player tracking session, whichis one type of loyalty program session, the session is initiated whenphysical contact between the magnetic stripe and magnetic reader isdetected. Typically, the card is inserted in a card reader. For asuccessful read of the magnetic stripe, the length of the stripe must bemoved over a magnetic head in the card reader. The movement of themagnetic stripe over the magnetic head can be supplied by 1) a forcesupplied by a user (e.g., the act of the user inserting the card forcesthe stripe over the magnetic head) or 2) a force supplied byservo-mechanisms within the card reader.

For a successful read, the card must be inserted correctly in the cardreader. A correct orientation is when the card inserted in a manner thatallows the magnetic stripe to come in contact with the magnetic head.Typically, a standard magnetic striped card is designed with a top-sideand a bottom-side where the magnetic stripe is located across the bottomside of the card in an off-center location. A card reader used with thestandard magnetic stripe card requires the card to be inserted with thetop-side facing upwards and the magnetic stripe on the left side of thecard slot. If the card is inserted up-side down or the card is insertedin the card slot with the stripe on the opposite side of the location ofthe magnetic head then the data is not read from the card.

The magnetic head is used to read data stored on a number of tracks onthe magnetic stripe. The magnetic stripe may contain a number of tracks,usually three, but all of the tracks may not be used. In most playertracking implementations, the first track is used to store a number, thenumber is an index to a record in a player tracking database. The secondtrack is used to store a name such as the property where the card wasissued. The third track is not used. The first track usually contains upto 80 characters of data and the second track contains up to 40characters of data.

When the index number is read from the card, the number is transmittedto a remote server. The index number is used by the remote server toretrieve a player tracking record corresponding to the index number. Anindex number to a record in a database is used because the magneticstriped card does not have the storage capacity to store the record.

A portion of the information stored in the record may be transmittedback to the gaming machine. The gaming machine may use the informationtransmitted from the server to generate a player tracking session and toprovide other personalized gaming services. For instance, the recordreferenced by the index number may supply information, such as, 1) aplayer identification number, 2) a social security number, 3) a name, 4)an address, 5) a credit number, 6) a player rating, 7) complimentary(comp.) information, 8) a player preference tracking number and 9) acasino preference tracking number. In addition, information relating togames, game features, gaming machine settings, prizes, promotions andfood/beverage services preferred by the game player may be stored in therecord.

For the generation of a player tracking session, the striped card isinserted in the card reader, the index number is read from the magneticstriped card and then is transmitted to the remote server. As part ofthe validation process for the player tracking session, a player may berequired to enter a PIN number. After the session is validated,parameters from game play performed on the gaming machine, such as anamount bet, is converted to player tracking points by the remote server.The player tracking session ends when the player removes the magneticstriped card from the card reader.

When a magnetic striped card storing an index to a record in a databaseis used to initiate a player tracking session, a number of factors canprevent the implementation of the player tracking session. For example,if the magnetic stripe on the card can't be read because the stripe hasbeen damaged or de-magnetized, then the player tracking session is notinitiated. As another example, if the magnetic striped card is notinserted in the card reader, then the player tracking session is notinitiated. The card may not be inserted because the player may forget toinsert the card or may have forgotten to bring their card as previouslydescribed. In another example, the player can insert their cardincorrectly, such as, up-side down or backwards, which prevent the cardfrom being read and thus a player tracking card from being initiated. Ifcommunication is unavailable between the gaming machine and a remoteserver, then the player tracking session may not be initiated. If theplayer is required to enter a PIN number and the player has forgottentheir number, then the player tracking session can't be initiated.Finally, if the player the leaves the magnetic striped card in the cardreader, then the card can be lost. Until, the card is re-placed, theplayer may not be able to generate a player tracking session.

It is beneficial to the casino that operates a loyalty program and aplayer that is a member in the program to make the process ofparticipating as simple and as fool-proof as possible. Fool-proofing theprocess requires addressing the issues that prevent the loyalty programsession from being initiated. As is described with respect to FIGS.9-13, input mechanisms using non-physical contact data interfaces can beused to make the initiation of a loyalty program session on a gamingmachine more fool proof.

FIGS. 9A-9D are block diagrams of loyalty program instruments and dataformats of the present invention. In FIG. 9A, a substrate 900 with a 1-Dbar-code is shown. The 1-D bar-code may be used to encode an index to arecord in a database. A standard Universal Product Code (UPC) symbolprovides a 12 digit number. However, longer or shorter numbers may beencoded in a 1-D bar-code format. In FIG. 9B, a substrate with a 1-Dbar-code and a 2-D bar-codes 904 are shown. The 2-D bar-codes, as is tobe described as follows, may be used to encode a much large amount ofdata than a 1-D bar code. In FIGS. 9A and 9B, the 1-D bar-codes and 2-Dbar-codes may be read with a bar-code reader, such as a LS 6800 seriesbar-code reader from Symbol Technologies (Holtsville, N.Y.). The LS 6800is incorporated in a rectangular box of dimensions of a height of 1.75inches a width of 2.75 inches and a depth of 4.5 inches.

In FIG. 9A, the substrate 900 is printed with three 1-D bar-codes 902.The 1-D bar-codes encode the same number or different numbers. Forinstance, the bar-codes at the edge of the substrate 9A may encode onenumber while the large bar-code in the center of the substrate 900 mayencode a different number than then number at the edges. The size andorientations of the 1-D barcodes allow the bar-codes to be read atdifferent orientations and distances from the bar-code reader.

In one embodiment, the bar-codes (1-D/2-D) may be printed on asubstrate, such as a plastic wallet sized rectangular shaped card (e.g.,credit card sized), a printed ticket and a plastic device designed to beattached to a key ring. In this case, the bar-codes may be printed onthe top-side of the substrate, the bottom side of the substrate or both.The information encoded on the top-side and the bottom side of thesubstrate 900 may be the same or may be different. When the informationis on the top-side and the bottom-side is the same, the information maybe read from the substrate when either top-side or the bottom side isorientated toward the reader. In another embodiment, differentinformation may be optionally encoded on the top-side and thebottom-side of the substrate. For instance, a 1-D bar-code may beprinted on a top-side of the substrate 900 and an optional 2-D bar-codemay be printed on the bottom side of the substrate. In this case,information may be read from a first side of the substrate and thesubstrate may be optionally flipped to read information from the secondside of the substrate.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the 1-D/2-D bar-codes may beprinted on a substrate with an adhesive backing. Thus, the substrate maybe attached to a plurality of devices that may be carried by the player.For instance, the substrate may be attached to a credit card carried bythe player, a magnetic striped room key, a cell phone, a person digitalassistant, a watch band, a purse, a wallet, an item of clothing, etc.The surface on which the printed substrate is attached does notnecessarily have to be flat. Many bar-code readers are capable ofreading bar-codes placed on curved surfaces. A player may be issued asheet of bar-codes with adhesive backing so that the bar-codes may beplaced on a plurality of devices.

In another embodiment, the bar-code may be printed on a bracelet thatmay be worn by the player, similar to a hospital bracelet. The playermay place the bracelet near the bar-code reader to have it read. Afterthe player is finished with the bracelet, it may be discarded.

In one embodiment, a plurality of bar-codes corresponding to differentloyalty programs may be located on the same substrate. Player trackingclubs run by different casinos use different index numbers for theirclubs that are not compatible. Thus, a player that gambles at aplurality of casinos may be required to carry a plurality of playertracking clubs to participate in a player tracking session at each ofthe clubs. With the present invention, bar-codes from different playertracking clubs may be printed on the same substrate or attached the samesubstrate using a bar-code printed on an adhesive backing. At the startof the loyalty program session, the plurality of bar-codes may bescanned from the substrate, the scanned numbers may be analyzed todetermine if any are valid for the gaming machine or gaming device onwhich the player has requested a loyalty program session. When one ofthe scanned numbers is valid, then a loyalty program session may beinitiated on the gaming machine. An advantage of this embodiment is thatthe number of player tracking cards carried by the player may bereduced.

In another embodiment, the gaming machine or another gaming device maybe capable of scanning a plurality of 1-D bar-codes and 2-D bar-codesand combining them on a single instrument. For example, a plurality of1-D bar-codes providing index numbers for a plurality of player trackingclubs may be read by the bar-code reader or the index numbers may beread by another input device on the gaming machine. Then, the all of the1-D bar-codes may be formatted and printed on a single instrument, suchas a printable media with an adhesive backing or a printed ticket. Inanother example, the plurality of 1-D bar-codes may be combined into asingle 2-D bar-code. The 2-D bar-code may be printed on a singleinstrument, such as a printable media with an adhesive backing or aprinted ticket, that may be carried by the player. In yet anotherembodiment, all of the index may be combined in a single RFID tag. RFIDtags are described in detail with respect to FIGS. 9C and 10A-10C.

As described above, 1-D/2-D bar-codes may be used with the presentinvention. In an ordinary (1-D) bar-code, the data is encode in avertically redundant format, i.e., the same information is repeatedvertically. Thus, the heights of the bars may be truncated without anyloss of information. The vertical redundancy allows a symbol withprinting defects, such as spots or voids, to still be read. The higherthe bar heights, the greater probability that at least one path alongthe bar-code will be readable.

A 2-D bar-code symbol stores information along the height as well as thelength of the symbol. Since both dimensions contain information, some ofthe vertical redundancy is lost. To insure accurate reading, most 2-Dbar-codes use check words to insure accurate reading. An advantage of a2-D bar-code symbol is that significantly more data may be encoded thancompared a 1-D bar-code symbol. With a 2-D bar-code symbol, an entirerecord of a database can be stored on a single 2-D bar-code symbolrather than just an index to a record.

When a 2-D bar-code is employed, data processing, such as but notlimited to parsing, editing, formatting, re-ordering, optical characterrecognition, encrypting/decrypting, format conversion, may be utilizedto process the data read from the 2-D bar-code by the bar-code reader.The data processing may be performed by a logic device located in thebar-code reader, a logic device in communication with the bar-codereader and combinations thereof. Thus, the bar-code reader may include acommunication interface for communicating with processors located onother gaming devices, such as a processor located in a player trackingunit, the master gaming controller on the gaming machine or a processoron a remote server.

A 2-D bar-code is one example of a 2-D symbol encoding format. Ingeneral there are many types of 2-D symbol formats that may be employedwith the present invention. Often the term 2-D bar-codes and the term2-D symbols are used interchangeably to describe a 2-D symbol encodinginformation. These 2-D symbol formats include but not are limited to,3-DI, ArrayTag, Aztec Code, Small Aztec Code, Codablock, Code 1, Code16K, Code 49, CP-Code, DataGlyphs, Data Matrix, Data Strip Code, DotCode A, hueCode, Intacta.Code, MaxiCode, Mini code, PDF 417, Micro PDF417, QR Code, Smart Code, Snowflake Code, Supercode and Ultracode. Thesecodes may be black and white codes, i.e., use only black and whiteelements. However, some codes may also utilize color elements or grayscale elements which allow the information density encoded in the 2-Dsymbol to be increased. The use of a color elements or gray scaleelements in a symbol may require different types of scanners to read thesymbol than are used for symbols encoded only with black and whiteelements.

Varying amounts of data may be encoded in a 2-D symbol depending on theformat and the capabilities of the reader. Further, in many of theformats the data may be encrypted. For instance, Code 16K printed at 7.5mils may be used to encode 208 alphabet characters per square inch or417 numeric characters per square inch. Data Strip Code may be used toencode 150 to 1000 Bytes of digital data per square inch. PDF417(portable data format) may be used to encode 1.1 kilobytes of machinereadable data in the space of a standard bar-code. Also, PDF471 (SymbolTechnologies) may be used to encode ASCII, numeric or binary data. Thedata densities may vary according encoding format of the data. Withmaximum error correction in PDF471, data may be correctly read from asymbol with half of the symbol damaged.

The 2-D bar-codes may be used to encode data, text, graphics,biometrics, sounds and voice records. For instance, fingerprints,scanned signatures and voice authorization records may be stored in a2-D bar-code. The scanned signature and the voice authorization recordmay be recorded at the gaming machine, processed and printed in a 2-Dbar-code format on a ticket that is carried by the player. The encodedinformation on the ticket may be later used to validate/authenticate theprinted ticket. In one embodiment, prior to issuing a ticket, the playermay be asked to speak a short phrase of their choosing or specified bythe gaming machine into a microphone located on the gaming machine. Theshort phrase may or may not be encoded on the ticket in the player'svoice. For instance, a digital sound signature may be generated from themessage. Later, to validate the ticket, the encoded information may beread on the ticket and played back to an operator validating the ticket,such via as in an earpiece worn by the operator. The operator may askthe player to repeat the short phrase encoded on the ticket. Theoperator may use the manner in which the phrase is said, the informationcontained in the phrase or combinations thereof to validate the ticket.In another embodiment, the short phrase may be repeated into amicrophone and a digital sound signature generated from the short phrasemay be compared with a digital sound signature of the message originallystored on the ticket.

In other embodiments, the 2-D bar-code may be used to encode a record ina loyalty program database such as a 1) a player identification number,2) a social security number, 3) a name, 4) an address, 5) a creditnumber, 6) a player rating, 7) complimentary (comp.) information, 8) aplayer preference tracking number and 9) a casino preference trackingnumber. In general, the 2-D barcodes may be used to encode one of a)loyalty program information, b) biometric information, c) playerpreferences for games, game features, gaming machine settings, prizes,promotions and food/beverage services, d) promotional information, e)gaming machine configuration settings, f) prize information, g) cashlesstransaction information and h) and combinations thereof. Further,equipment calibrations used for maintenance as well as gaming machinesettings preferred by the player may be encoded in a 2-D bar-codeformat.

The 2-D bar-codes provide a number of advantages. One advantage is thatgaming services may be provided to the player when contact with a remoteserver is unavailable because a record rather than an index may beencoded in the 2-D bar-code. Another advantage is that the PIN code maybe eliminated when biometric information is encoded in the 2-D bar-code.For instance, in one embodiment, a player's fingerprint may be encodedin a 2-D symbol. Thus, rather than entering a PIN number, the player maysimply place their finger on a finger printer reader. Therefore, theplayer can initiate a secure session without having to remember a PINnumber.

In general, by providing an entire record on the loyalty programinstrument (e.g., encoded in a 2-D bar-code format or encoded in an RFIDtag), a gaming service, such as a player tracking session, a preferredgaming machine configuration or other customized gaming machine service,that requires a record to be retrieved from a remote server to generatethe service on the gaming machine, may be provided by the gaming machinewithout first contacting the remote server. For example, in atraditional player tracking programs, a remote server is contacted afterthe player inserts their player tracking card because the playertracking card only stores an index to a record stored on the remoteserver. Via a communication on the gaming machine, the index number issent to the remote server to retrieve the player tracking recordcorresponding to the index number. The player tracking record providesinformation necessary to implement the player tracking session. With thepresent invention, the player tracking session may be implemented usingthe player tracking record stored on the loyalty program instrumentwithout contacting the remote server. After the player tracking sessionhas been completed, the gaming machine may contact the remote server toprovide a history of the player tracking session that has beenimplemented on the gaming machine.

Bar-code readers include a bar-code scanner and a decoder. The bar-codescanner is the optoelectronic part of the reader which transforms forthe optical image of the bar-code into electrical signals. Theelectrical signal may be converted by a decoder within the reader intoASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange). The readersof the present invention are not limited to reading data only encoded ina 1-D bar-code format (there are also a wide variety of 1-D formats).For instance, information on a loyalty program instrument may be encodedin a 1-D bar-code format, a 2-D bar-code format (there are wide varietyof 2-D bar-code symbol formats), other symbol formats, alpha-numericformats and combinations thereof. Therefore, the reader of the presentinvention, including a scanner and a decoder, may be capable of scanningand decoding information encoded in a wide variety of formats. Forinstance, on a substrate 900, a casino's name in an alpha-numericformat, a symbol for a casino, a 1-D bar-code and a 2-D bar-code may allbe printed on the same substrate and all of this information in thedifferent formats may be processed by the same reader.

The bar-code reader may be used to read 1-D bar-codes and 2-D bar-codesusing a laser scanner. The laser scanner used in the bar-code reader isone example of a non-physical data interface. The laser in the scannermay be generated using a laser diode. The wavelength of the light usedin the scanner may vary from the visible to the infrared spectrum. Insome embodiments, the bar-code may be printed in an invisible format.For example, some invisible inks and dyes are fluorescent in the nearinfrared spectrum and thus may be read with infrared scanner. Thesesymbols are not visible under UV light.

The scanning rate for the laser scanner may be between 40 and 800 timesa second. Since self-scanning laser readers, scan at a high rate, theyare able to read poorly printed bar code that may require several scanattempts without the user noticing. Many bar-code readers and symbolsformats provide for error correction that allow for damaged ormisprinted symbols to be read. Typically, laser scanner use coherentlight, which limits the amount of beam spreading. This allows thediameter of the beam to remain small enough to resolve wide and narrowbars of the bar-code even when the reading distances vary over thebar-code symbol. This property allows bar-codes printed on curvedsurfaces to be read. Depending on the symbol width, printing technologyand ambient conditions, data may be read from bar-codes in a range ofabout 2 inches to 30 inches from the reader. These distances may varydepending on the employed technology. For instance, an ArrayTag 2-Dbar-code format may be read from a distance as great as 50 meters.

Another example of a non-physical contact data interface that may beused to read 1-D and 2-D bar-codes in a bar-code reader is a chargedcoupled device (CCD) scanner. In CCD scanner, the bar-code may beilluminated by a photoflash or by another type of light source. Theimage of the bar-code is focused on to an array of photodetectors (i.e.,CCD). The images of the dark bars of the symbol will fall on some of thephotodetectors, while the light spaces fall on other detectors. Anelectrical signal is applied to the CCD array and the light value ateach detector is read. This signal may be processed to determine theinformation encoded in the symbol. With a bright light, the depth offocus for a CCD array is several inches and generally the symbol must beplaced closer to the scanner as compared to a laser scanner. Although,depending on the size of the symbols, the information may be read up toseveral feet away.

The density of the symbol that can be read is a function of the numberof photodetectors in the CCD array. Instead of a CCD scanner, a CCDvideo camera may be also be used to read bar-code symbols. The laser andCCD scanners may be operated continuously, may be activated when asensor detects an object is in the vicinity of the scanner, may beactivated in response to a gaming event, such as a player depositingmoney into a gaming machine and combinations thereof.

In the present invention, a loyalty program instrument with an RFID tagis another type of device that may be utilized with an input mechanismusing a non-physical contact data interface. In FIG. 9C, a substrate 900with an embedded RFID tag 906 is shown. In its simplest form, an RFIDtag 906 may comprise a logic device 907 and an antenna 908 without apower supply. When the RFID tag without a power supply is interrogatedby a RFID tag reader operating at the right radio frequency, the antennapicks up a small amount of electromagnetic energy that is used to powerlogic device 907. After receiving power, the logic device 907 broadcastsvia the antenna 908 data that is stored in the logic device to the RFIDtag reader. Additional details regarding RFID tag readers and RFID tagsare described with respect to FIGS. 10A-10C.

The RFID tags 906 may be of varying sizes. For instance, the logicdevice 907 may be 1 mm square and ½ mm thick and embedded in a flexiblesubstrate such as paper. The RFID devices may also incorporated into asubstrate 900 with an adhesive backing and placed on various objectscarried by a gaming machine user at the casino in the manner as wasdescribed for the 1-D/2-D bar-codes. RFID devices that may be used withthe present invention are produced by companies, such as TexasInstruments (Dallas, Tex.), Hitachi (Japan), Infeon Technologies(Germany). Another type of RFID tag by Sarnoff (Princeton, N.J.) is assmall as 250 micrometers wide. The RFID tag includes photocells, logic,memory for 50 bits and an antenna etched in silicon. The logic devicereceives power through a burst of laser light that is received by thephotocells.

The memory storage capacities of the RFID tags used in the presentinvention may vary. In one embodiment, the RFID tag may be used to storea number that is an index to record in database like a 1-D bar-codesymbol. In another embodiment, the RFID tag may be used to store arecord in a database like the 2-D bar-code symbol. The type ofinformation, such as loyalty program instrument data, that may be storedon the RFID tag 906 are the same as described above for the 1-D/2-Dbar-codes.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a combination of 1-D/2-Dbar-codes and RFID tags may be used. In FIG. 9D, a substrate 900including an RFID tag 906, 1-D bar-code symbol 902 and a 2-D bar-codesymbol 904 is shown. The RFID tag 906 may be embedded in a media, suchas paper or plastic, and the 1-D/2-D barcodes may be printed on themedia. In particular embodiments, the media may be credit card sizeplastic substrate, a thermal printing media with an embedded RFID tag,any type of printable media with an embedded RFID tag and a printablelabel with an embedded RFID tag and an adhesive backing. Since the RFIDtags may be quite small a plurality of tags may be embedded in the samemedia. Input mechanisms of the present invention may be designed to readinformation stored in RFID tags, read bar-codes or read both formats.For instance, a bill validator may be capable of scanning informationencoded in the 1-D/2-D bar-code formats printed on a ticket inserted inthe bill validator and interrogating an RFID tag embedded in theinserted ticket.

In FIG. 9D, the different information formats (i.e., RFID and bar-code)may be stored the same information or different information. Forinstance, in one embodiment, the 1-D bar-code 902 may store an index toa record while the RFID tag 906 stores a security code that is used tovalidate the instrument. In another embodiment, the RFID tag and a 1-Dbar-code may be used to store the same index number. Thus, if the RFIDtag is damage, the index number may be read from the 1-D bar-code or ifthe 1-D bar-code is damaged the index number may be read from the RFIDtag.

FIGS. 10A-10C are block diagrams of RFID tags and RFID tag readers ofthe present invention. In FIGS. 10A and 10B, the use of inductivecoupling and propagation coupling to read RFID tags. In FIG. 10C, anRFID tag for one embodiment of the present invention is described.

In FIG. 10A, a reader antenna 912 connected to a reader/programmer 910is used to communicate with an RFID tag 908, including a logic device907 and antenna 908, which is located on a substrate 900. The RFID tag906 is a passive RFID tag and does not include a power supply. Although,as described with respect to FIG. 10C, active RFID tags with a powersupply may be used in the present invention. The logic device may be asilicon microprocessor, which may vary in size. The antenna is typicallya metal coil made of a conductive metal such as copper or aluminum.

Power is supplied to the RFID tag 906 via the air interface 914 throughinductive coupling 915 to the metal coil which is the tag's antenna 908.Inductive RFID tags are powered by a magnetic field generated by thereader. The antenna 908 picks up magnetic energy. The magnetic energy isthen used to power the logic device 907. The logic device 907 modulatesthe magnetic field in order to retrieve and transmit data back to thereader 910. The data transmitted back to the reader then may becommunicated to another gaming device, such as but not limited to, alogic device on a player tracking unit, a master gaming controller on agaming machine and a remote server.

An RFID tag using capacitive coupling or propagation coupling 916 isshown in FIG. 10B. In a typical RFID tag using propagation coupling, thelogic device 907 is a silicon microprocessor. The RFIG tag's antenna 908is generated using a conductive ink. By printing the antenna structureon a media, such as paper, using the conductive ink, the antenna may beformed. Carbon-ink electrodes on the paper, which may be integrated intoan adhesive label, may be used to connect the antenna to themicroprocessor. The capacitively coupled RFID tag 906 is powered byelectric fields generated by the reader antenna 912 attached to thereader/programmer 910.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the RFID tag 906 mayinclude one or more photocells. The photocells may be used to power theRFID tag by shining light energy, such as a generated by a laser, ontothe photocell. The photocell then transmits the energy received from thelaser to the logic device.

Typically, the RFID tags may use three frequency ranges, low, medium andhigh to communicate information. Low frequency range is from 100-500KHz. The medium frequency range is from 10-15 MHz and the high frequencyrange is from 850-850 MHz and 2.4 to 5.8 GHz. In general, the readingspeed for data and the reading range increases as the frequency usedwith the RFID tag increases. The range of the RFID system is a functionof the power available at the reader/programmer 910 and the poweravailable by the RFID tag to respond and the environmental conditions inwhich the RFID tag is used, such as a casino environment.

The function of the reader portion of the reader/programmer 910 is toprovide a means of communicating with the tags and facilitating datatransfer. The reader may include a logic device designed to performsignal conditioning and parity error checking and correction. RFIDreaders, such as 910, may probe simultaneously a plurality of RFID tags.Once a signal from an RFID tag has been correctly received and decoded,algorithms may be applied to decide whether the signal is a repeattransmission. When the reader 910 determines the transmission has beenrepeated, the reader may instruct the RFID tag to stop transmitting.This process, often referred to as “Command Response Protocol,” is usedto circumvent the problem of reading multiple tags in a short period oftime during batch processing. In another approach, the reader 910 maylook for RFID tags with specific identities and interrogate them inturn.

Batch processing may be applied when a plurality of RFID tags are withinthe range of the RFID reader. For example, batch processing may beapplied when a player is carrying a plurality of instruments where eachinstrument may include one or more RFID tags. In this example, thereader may be able to interrogate each of the RFID tags to determine thefunction of each instrument carried by the player. In one embodiment,when the player is carrying a plurality of RFID tags where a portion ofthe RFID tags encode index numbers corresponding to different playertracking programs, then the RFID reader located on the gaming machinemay be able to read each of the index numbers stored on the tags anddetermine if any of the read index numbers are valid for a playertracking program implemented on the gaming machine. The interrogation ofthe different RFID tags by the reader may be initiated when a game playsession is initiated on the gaming machine.

In one embodiment, the player may carry instruments with RFID tagsissued for a number of purposes, such as player tracking programs,anonymous loyalty instruments, cashless instruments, promotionalcredits, coupons and comps. These RFID tags may have been issued atdifferent locations and at different times. Thus, the RFID tags maystore information regarding but not limited to, a purpose, where theywere issued, the time they were issued and when they expire. When a gameplay session is initiated on the gaming machine by a player or inresponse to some other game event, the reader may interrogate the RFIDtags that are within range of the reader such as the RFID tags carriedby the player initiating the game play session. With this information,the gaming machine may be able to determine 1) what types of tags theplayer is carrying, 2) what is their purpose and 3) where the player hasbeen. The gaming machine may also be able to determine where the RFIDtag was issued, when the instrument with the RFID tag was issued andwhether the instrument has an expiration date. This process may becarried out at other locations frequented by the player. For instance,RFID readers may be located at cashier stations, ATM machines, casinokiosk, hotel registration desks as well as gaming machines.

Using information read from RFID tags carried by the player, a gamingdevice, such as a gaming machine, or a casino employee that has accessto the read information, may send targeted information to the player.For instance, if the player is carrying a coupon for promotionalcredits, the gaming machine may remind the player of the coupon andencourage them to use it. In another embodiment, if the gaming machinedetermines the player is carrying cashless instruments with a cash valueabove a certain threshold, then the gaming machine may offer the playerpromotional offers to entice them to spend it. The promotional offer maybe displayed on a display screen on the gaming machine or may be madevia a printed ticket issued by the gaming machine. In anotherembodiment, based upon information read from the RFID tags, such as thevalue of cashless instruments carried by the player, the gaming machinemay notify an attendant to provide the player special service.

In another embodiment, if the gaming machine determines that any of theinstruments carried by the player are about to expire, the gamingmachine may generate and display a notification message. For instance,cashless instruments are only redeemable for a limited time period.Thus, if the gaming machine determines that a cashless instrument isabout to expire, the gaming machine may generate a notification messagewith this information and display the message. In another example,promotions, such as promotional credits, may only be valid for a limitedtime period. Therefore, if the gaming machine determines the promotionis about to end, then the gaming machine may generate a notificationmessage with this information and display the message.

The targeted services may be provided while identity of the player isunknown. targeted anonymous gaming services are possible becausealthough the RFID tags may not contain any information about theplayer's identity, information read from a plurality of RFID tagscarried by the player, such as the purpose of the instrument, when theywere issued and where they were issued, may provide enough informationto target a service to the player. As described above, information readfrom the instruments the player is carrying may be used to construct ahistory of the player's recent activities and based upon the informationsoftware algorithms may be developed that target services to the player.

A person carrying the RFID tags may not know what information is storedon the tags or in what instruments the tags are located. Further, theinformation on the RFID tags may be gathered without any activeparticipation by a person carrying the RFID tag, i.e., the informationgathering process is passive in regards to participation by the player.Passive information gathering is not possible with a magnetic stripedcard. With a magnetic striped card, active information gathering isrequired because the player has to correctly insert the card into a cardreader to have the information from the card read. Further, only theinformation on the inserted card is read. Information from othermagnetic striped cards carried by the player can't be read unless theplayer serially inserts the card in the card reader. With an RFID tag(see FIGS. 12 and 13 for more detail), the player may only have to be ina location within the range of the RFID reader to have the informationon all the RFID tags they are carrying to be read.

Returning to FIGS. 10A and 10B, the reader/programmer 910 may be used tostore information to an RFID tag 906. In one embodiment, the programmingprocess may involve a write-once read many (WORM) RFID tag. For thistype of tag, the information programming may be carried out when theinstrument with the RFID tag is issued. For example, a printable mediawith an embedded RFID tag may be programmed by the reader/programmer 910during the process of generating a printed ticket with the RFID tag. Inanother embodiment, the embedded RFID tag may be pre-programmed and theinformation stored on RFID tag may only be read when the printed ticketis issued. The data read from the RFID tag may be stored in a databaselocated on one of the gaming machine, a remote server and combinationsthereof. As described with respect to FIG. 10C, more complicated RFIDtags may be read/write capable, i.e., the memory on the tags may bewritten to and over written a plurality of times.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a portion or all of theelectronic circuitry for an RFID tag used in an instrument may begenerated by printing the circuitry directly to a printable media. Theprinting process may be carried out by a printer located in a gamingdevice, such as a gaming machine as part of the process of issuing theinstrument from the gaming machine. For example, circuitry may beprinted on a cashless instrument when the cashless instrument is issuedfrom the gaming machine. The circuitry may be used to store informationabout the cashless instrument, such as a value of the ticket.

In one embodiment, the printed circuitry may be memory circuitry used tostore information used on the RFID tag 906. The printed circuitry may begenerated when the instrument is issued i.e., “on the fly.” As anexample, the memory circuitry may be generated using conductive inktransferred to a suitable media, such as paper, using an inkjet printer.Paper is one example of a flexible media that may be used with thepresent invention. In another example, a thermal printer may be used toactivate electronic pathways on a thermally activated media to createthe electronic circuitry. The memory circuitry printed on the media usedfor the instrument may be capable of storing a number of bits ofinformation, such as an index number for a loyalty program instrument.The memory circuitry may be connected to an RFID microprocessor embeddedin the printable media, such as the logic device 907. Therefore, thestored information in the memory circuitry may be later read by an RFIDreader 910.

The printers used in the present invention may also be capable ofprinting information, such as loyalty program instrument data, in otherformats, such as 1-D/2-D bar-codes and alpha-numeric symbols, asdescribed with respect to FIGS. 9A-9D. The printer may be one of a laserprinter, inkjet printer and thermal contact printer. Further, theprinter may be capable of printing information, such as a bar-codesymbols, in an invisible format.

In FIG. 10C, a RFID tag 906 for one embodiment of the present inventionis described. The RFID tags of the present invention may be passive oractive tags. Active tags are powered by an internal battery and aretypically read/write devices. Passive tags operate without an internalbattery source, deriving the power to operate from the field generatedby the reader.

The RFID tag memory may comprise one or more of ROM 924, Non-volatilememory 922 (e.g., EEPROM or flash memory) and RAM 926. The ROM memorymay be used to accommodate security data and the RFID tag operatingsystem instructions. The operating system instructions may be used bythe logic device 920 to perform internal functions, such as responsedelay timing, data flow control, encryption/decryption and power supplyswitching. The RAM memory 926 may be used for temporary data storageduring interrogation and response between the RFID tag 906 and thereader 910.

The NV-RAM is used to store RFID tag data. NV-RAM is used to ensure theRFID tag data is not lost when the device is in its quiescent orpower-saving sleep state. The NV-RAM used in the present invention mayvary in storage capacity. The NV-RAM may be capable of storing a numberof bits of information used to store a number that is an index to arecord in a database or may be large enough to store a portable datafile which may be a record in a database. As described with respect toFIGS. 9A-9D, gaming services may be provided using the record stored ina portable data file without contacting a remote server.

The data transfer circuitry 926 may be used as a data buffer totemporarily hold incoming data following demodulation and outgoing datafor modulation and may be used to interface with the reader antenna. Thedata transfer circuitry 926 may also be used to direct and accommodatethe interrogation field energy for powering purposes and triggering ofthe transponder response. Circuitry (not shown) may also be provided toallow for programming of the RFID tag 906. The power supply 930 isoptional. Active tags require a power supply while passive tags derivepower remote sources such as the from field energy provided by thereader antenna or a laser light source used to transfer energy to thetag via a photocell.

FIGS. 11A-11B are block diagrams of input mechanisms with a non-physicalcontact data interface of the present invention. The input mechanismsare provided for illustrative purposes and the present invention is notlimited to these two designs. The input mechanisms may be mounteddirectly to a gaming machine or may be located within a player trackingdevice mounted to the gaming machine.

In FIG. 11A, an input mechanism 950 with an interior non-physicalcontact data interface 952 is shown. The non-physical contact datainterface 952 may be one of a bar-code scanner, a RFID tag reader andcombinations thereof. The input mechanism 950 comprises a rectangularhousing 955. The rectangular housing has an exterior surface 959 that isdesigned to form an exterior surface of the gaming machine. Thus, mostof the housing 955 is located within the interior of the gaming machine.The exterior surface 959 may be located on a horizontal surface, avertical surface or on a surface with an inclination between horizontaland vertical located on the gaming machine.

The housing 955 is designed for accepting a rectangular substrate 900,such as a ticket or a plastic card. The substrate 900 may include 1-Dbar-codes 902, 2-D bar-codes 904, RFID tags (not shown) and combinationsthereof. The exterior surface 959 includes a slot 956. The slot isdesigned to receive the substrate 900. Guides 958 may be located in theinterior of the housing. The guides 958 may be used to constrain theorientation of the substrate 900 after it is inserted in the slot 956.The top of the non-physical contact data interface 952 may be located ata distance below the guides 958. After the substrate 900 is inserted inthe slot, information on the substrate may be read by the non-physicalcontact data interface 952.

In FIG. 11B, an input mechanism 951 with an exterior mountednon-physical contact data interface 952. The top of the non-physicalcontact data interface 952 is surrounded by an exterior surface 960. Thenon-physical contact data interface 952 may be mounted below atranslucent material. The non-physical contact data interface 952 andthe exterior surface by connected to a housing (not shown) extendingbelow the exterior surface 960. The exterior surface 959 may be locatedon a horizontal surface, a vertical surface or on a surface with aninclination between horizontal and vertical located on the gamingmachine.

The non-physical contact data interface may read information from thesubstrate 900 when it is moved through or within an active volume 970above the reader 952. The shape and size of the substrate 900 is notlimited to a rectangular shape shown in the figure. Information may beread from the substrate 900 at one of a plurality of distances betweenthe substrate 900 and the reader 952 and with one of a plurality oforientations between the substrate 900 and the reader. For example, whenbar-code data is read from the substrate 900 using a bar-code reader,the side of the substrate 900 facing the top of the reader 952 may beparallel to the top of the reader or inclined at one of a pluralityrelative to the top of the reader. When RFID data is read from thesubstrate 900, in some embodiments, the RFID data may be readindependently of the orientation of the substrate relative to the reader952. In other embodiments, when the RFID tag receives power from thereader 952 via light energy received from photocells on the tag, thesubstrate may have to be oriented in one of a plurality of orientationsthat allows the photocells to receive light energy from the reader 952.

During the read process, the substrate 900 may be stationary or at atime varying position relative to the reader 952. Further, theorientation of the substrate relative to the reader 952 during the readprocess may be fixed or may be time varying during the read process. Forexample, for a substrate 900 with a 2-D bar-code, the substrate 900 maybe moving and changing orientation in the volume above the reader 952during reading as the reader 952 scans the 2-D bar-code on the substratea plurality of times.

The input mechanism 951 may optionally include guides 962 for aligningthe substrate 900 in a preferred orientation. By placing the substrate900 within the guides, the substrate 900 may be aligned relative to thereader 952. If the substrate 900 is placed above the guides, butsomewhat aligned with the guides or the substrate 900 is smaller thanthe guides, the substrate may still be sufficiently aligned. In oneembodiment, the guides 962 may include slots for inserting the substrate900. An advantage of using a “free” read where the substrate 900 issimply placed within the active volume 970 for the read and then removedthat the substrate 900 can't be left in the device like a magneticstriped card can be left in a card slot. Therefore, this design mayreduce the probability of the substrate 900 being lost.

The input mechanisms 950 and 951 may include a loyalty program sessionstatus interface comprising one of a status light 954, a soundprojection device 955 and combinations thereof. The light may be locatedat any location on the exterior surfaces 959 and 960. For inputmechanism 950, the light may be a strip with one or more lightingelements and may surround the slot. For input mechanism, the light maybe a strip with one or more lighting elements. Further, the guides 962may be translucent and back-lit. The sound device 955 may be located onthe exterior surfaces 959 and 960. The sound device 955 and status light954 may be located or at other locations on the gaming machine and arenot limited to exterior surfaces 959 and 960. In general, the sounddevice 955 and status light 954 may be used to provide informationregarding the functioning of the input mechanisms in 950 and 951 in anyapplication for which they are used.

The loyalty session status interface may be used to indicate the statusof a loyalty program session and communicate information regarding theloyalty program session. In the present invention, the loyalty programsession is not limited to being initiated by physical contact betweenthe loyalty program instrument and the instrument reader and is notlimited to being terminated by the removal of a card from a card slot.The loyalty program session may be initiated and terminated in responseto a number of conditions. For example, the loyalty program session maybe initiated by a first gaming event and may be terminated by a secondgaming event. The first gaming event may be one of i) an input ofloyalty program instrument data from the loyalty point instrument viathe non-physical contact data interface, ii) a deposit of an indicia ofcredit into the gaming machine, iii) an insertion of a card into a cardslot on the gaming machine, iv) an activation an input button on thegaming machine, v) an input of a loyalty program instrument into theinput mechanism on the gaming machine, vi) an input of a code into thegaming machine, vii) an input of biometric information into the gamingmachine and viii) combinations thereof. The second gaming event may beone of a) an occurrence of zero credits on the gaming machine, b) anamount of idle time on the gaming machine exceeding a specified limit,c) a tilt condition, d) an error condition, e) a request for a loyaltyprogram instrument, f) a request to terminate the loyalty programsession, g) an inability to detect the loyalty program instrument, h) acashout request, i) a timeout condition, j) an inability to detect auser of the gaming machine and k) combinations thereof.

The loyalty program session status interface may communicate that statusinformation in a loyalty program session in a number of ways. The soundprojection device 955 may emit a sound in response to a data read by thenon-physical contact data interface 952 or the lighting device 955 maygenerate light in response to a data read by the non-physical contactdata interface 952. The lighting device 954 may change color in responseto a data read by the non-physical contact data interface. For example,the lighting device 954 may generate one of a first color, first lightpattern and combinations thereof when a status of the loyalty programsession is active and may generate one of a second color, a second lightpattern and combinations thereof when the status of the loyalty programsession is inactive. Further, the lighting device may generate one of athird color, a third light pattern and combinations thereof when thestatus of the loyalty program session is about to change. For example, aloyalty program session may time-out after a period of time and thethird pattern of light may be generated in a time period just before theloyalty program session ends.

When loyalty program session status interface includes both a sounddevice and one or more lighting devices. The loyalty program sessionstatus interface may generate one of a sound, a light pattern, a lightcolor and combinations thereof when data is read correctly by thenon-physical contact data interface and may generate one of a sound, alight pattern, a light color and combinations thereof when data is readincorrectly by the non-physical contact data interface. The loyaltyprogram session status interface may generate one of a sound, a lightpattern, a light color and combinations thereof when a status of theloyalty program session is active, may generate one of a sound, a lightpattern, a light color and combinations thereof when a status of theloyalty program session is inactive and may generate one of a sound, alight pattern, a light color and combinations thereof when a status ofthe loyalty program session is about to change.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of foot prints of non-physical contact datainterfaces of the present invention. The gaming machine typicallyoccupies a foot-print 970 while the gaming machine is on the casinofloor. The foot print is the area on the casino floor occupied by thegaming machine which may vary according to the make and model of thegaming machine. To play the gaming machine, a player typically stands orsits within a game player area 976 in front of the gaming machine. Toread bar-code data, a substrate with the bar-code is placed within anactive volume of space in which the bar-code reader is operable to readdata. A foot print 974 for the active volume of the bar-code reader isshown. The active volume is typically located at a location on thegaming machine that is easily accessible to the player that is locatedwithin the game playing area 976.

An RFID tag reader may generate an active volume with a much larger footprint than a bar-code reader. In one embodiment, the foot print of theactive volume for an RFID tag reader may encompass all or a largeportion of the game playing area 976. The RFID tag reader may bedesigned to read all of the RFID tags located within its active volume.A foot print 972 for one active volume of an RFID tag reader is shown inthe figure. For the foot print 972, when a player carrying RFID tags islocated within the game playing area 976, then the RFID tag reader maybe able to read the RFID tags carried by the player.

The active volume of the RFID tag reader may be sized to preventoverlapping reads. For instance, when the RFID tag reader is capable ofreading an RFID tag storing loyalty program instrument data that is usedto initiate a loyalty program session and when the active volume islarge an extends beyond the game playing area 976, the RFID tag readermay read loyalty program instruments carried by a plurality of differentgame players. For instance, the RFID tag reader may read RFID tagscarried by two different game players playing games on adjacent gamingmachines in a casino. As another example, a person carrying an RFID tagused as a loyalty program instrument not participating in a game play ona gaming machine may be located proximate to a person with an RFID tagused as a loyalty program instrument that is participating in a gameplay session.

To minimize overlapping reads, the active volume of the RFID tag readermay be shaped. The active volume may be shaped by among other factors,the size of the antenna used with the reader, the power supplied to theantenna and the frequency used to read the RFID tags. Further, shieldingmay be built into the cabinet of the gaming machine to limit the activevolume of the RFID tag reader. For instance, shielding may be providedto prevent the active volume from extending behind the gaming machine orto the sides of the gaming machine.

Dynamically changing the active volume may be used to located RFID tagsclosest to an RFID reader. For instance, if the active volume of thereader is such that a plurality of different RFID tags carried bydifferent players are read by the reader, then the signal strengthsupplied to the reader antenna may be reduced such that only the RFIDtags closest to the RFID reader receive enough power to reply to theRFID reader. Thus, only the RFID tag for a player located proximate tothe front of the gaming machine may be read as the power supplied to thereader antenna is reduced. This approach may be applied when it isdesirable to eliminate overlapping reads.

In some instances, it may be desirable to determine to location of anRFID tag. For instance, it may be desirable to determine the location ofthe RFID tag proximate to a particular gaming machine or the location ofan RFID tag within a casino. Methods and apparatus for locating wirelessgaming devices, such as RFID tags in a wireless gaming environment aredescribed with respect to FIG. 13.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a gaming system providing wireless dataaccess and wireless gaming device location services. In one embodiment,the gaming system is a wireless loyalty program instrument network 999.However, the present invention is not limited to locating wirelessgaming devices used as loyalty program instruments. Any wireless gamingdevice capable of communication with the gaming system, such as cellphones and personal communication devices with wireless interfaces, usedfor any purpose may be located with the present invention.

The gaming system may comprise a plurality of wireless signalgenerators/receivers, such as RFID tag readers that are used tointerrogate wireless gaming devices such as RFID tags and more complexRFID enabled devices, such as cell phones and other portablecommunication devices. The gaming system may also include a plurality ofwireless access points to a local area network for active communicationsessions with the more complex RFID devices that may transmit andreceive data at higher data bandwidths. The wireless access points mayprovide sufficient bandwidth for services involving voice, video,internet connections, text messaging, e-mail and game services that maybe provided on the more complex RFID devices. The wireless signalreceivers and wireless access points may be located in gaming devicessuch as gaming machines 1000, 1001, 1002, 1003, 1004 and 1005. Thewireless signal generators/receivers and wireless access points may belocated in locations separate from the gaming machines, such as wirelesssignal generator/receiver 1007 and wireless access point 1006. In oneembodiment, the wireless signal receivers used to locate wireless gamingdevices may be totally separate from the gaming machines in that thegaming machines do not include wireless signal receivers.

The wireless signal generator/receivers and wireless access points areconnected via a network 1012 to a location manager 1010. The locationmanager may be used to process signals received from a plurality ofsignal receivers in communication with the location manger 1010 and useinformation received from the plurality of readers to determine thelocation of a wireless source. The wireless sources may be RFID tags,cell phones or any type of device with a wireless communicationinterface.

The wireless sources may be used as loyalty program instruments. Thewireless sources generate signals that may be received by a number ofdifferent signal receivers. In the case of a passive RFID device, untila signal is received from a reader device, the signals from the passivedevices are not generated because the signal from the reader device isused to supply power to the wireless source to generate its replysignal. For active RFID devices with an internal power source, theinitial signal may be provided by the wireless source.

As an example of how location services may be provided in gamingenvironment three passive RFID tags used as loyalty program instruments,1014, 1016 and 1018, are shown in FIG. 13. The example is provided forillustrative purposes only. In one scenario, a game play session isinitiated on gaming machine 1000. A player carrying the RFID tag 1016may initiate the game play session. A player carrying the RFID tag 1018may be involved in a game play session on an adjacent gaming machine anda third person walking near the gaming machine may be carrying the RFIDtag 1014.

When the game play session is initiated, an RFID reader on gamingmachine 1000 broadcasts a signal. The range of the signal is largeenough to be received by RFID tags 1014, 1016 and 1018. In response toits initial signal, the RFID reader receives response signals from eachof the RFID tags, 1014, 1016 and 1018, which are used as loyalty programinstruments. In one embodiment, the gaming machine may be able toeliminate one or more of the loyalty program instruments based uponinformation read from the loyalty program instrument. For instance, oneor more the loyalty program instruments may be issued for loyaltyprograms that are not valid on the gaming machine 1000. Thus, the gamingmachine may be able to eliminate the RFID tags that are not valid on thegaming machine. In another embodiment, the gaming machine may be able todetermine the closest loyalty program instruments to the gaming machinebased upon the signal strength received from the tag or based upon atime to receive the signal reply signal from each of the RFID tags.Thus, when it is assumed that the RFID tags closest to the gamingmachine are carried by the player initiating the game play session, theRFID tags that are farther away may be eliminated. Further, the gamingmachine may reduce the power that is supplied to its reader antenna,such that, only the RFID tags closest to the gaming machine will receiveenough power to generate a reply to the gaming machine. Thus,eliminating the RFID tags that are farthest away.

In one embodiment, for the case where two or more valid loyalty programinstruments have been detected, the gaming machine may simply display alist of names corresponding to the index numbers read from each of thedetected instruments, prompt the player to verify their name and input apin number corresponding to the index number for their name. When a PINnumber is correctly received by the gaming machine corresponding to theselected loyalty program instrument, then the loyalty program sessionmay be initiated on the gaming machine.

In other embodiments, it may be desirable to more precisely locate, eachof the RFID tags. This type of service may be applied to different typesof wireless device, such as cell phones. In one example, the gamingmachine 1000 may send a message to the location manager requesting alocation of an RFID tag. In response, the location manager 1010 may senda message to a plurality of nearby wireless signal receivers requestingeach of them to turn on their receivers and may send a message torequest the RFID reader in gaming machine 1000 to send out a signal or apattern of signals that may be received by the RFID tags where thesignal strength generated by the reader may be varied. As example, inresponse to the signal from the reader in gaming machine 1000, the RFIDtag 1014 may generate a signal that is received by the wireless accesspoint 1006, gaming machine 1001 and gaming machine 1000. Further, theRFID tag 1016 may generate a signal that is received by the gamingmachine 1000, gaming machine 1001 and gaming machine 1003. In additionRFID tag 1018 may send a signal that is received by gaming machines1000, 1002, 1003, 1004, 1005 and the signal generator/receiver 1007.

The gaming devices receiving the signals may send response informationto the location manager 1010 regarding when they received the signalsand the signal strength. In addition, the location manager 1010 mayrequest one or more other readers located on different gaming devices tosend out a signal and a again request the nearby gaming devices tolisten for the reply signal and relay this information to the locationmanager 1010.

Using the received information, the location may apply an algorithm,such as triangulation, to determine the location of each of the RFIDtags. For instance, the location may be the location of the RFID tagrelative to a casino floor plan. To provide this location, the locationmanager 1010 may store a map of the casino floor plan and the positionof each signal receiver on the casino floor. After determining thelocation of each of the RFID tags, the location manager 1010 may send amessage to the gaming machine 1000 with information indicating whichRFID tag is closest to the gaming machine. In response to thisinformation, the gaming machine 1000 may initiate a loyalty programsession with the closest RFID tag.

The location manager 1010 may be capable of providing location servicesthat are of varying accuracies. For instance, in some embodiments, itmay be desirable to locate one or more RFID tags within a particulararea, such as in the vicinity of a bank of gaming machines. This may beuseful for monitoring traffic in the casino. In other embodiments, itmay be desirable to more precisely pin-point the location of aparticular RFID tag, such as its distance from a particular gamingmachine. In some embodiments, the resolution of the location service maybe accurate to less than 3-4 feet. The required resolution may depend onthe dimensions of the gaming machines and their spacing on the casinofloor. In another embodiment, the resolution may be accurate enough todetermine whether a location of the wireless gaming device is directlyin front of a gaming machine. To locate a wireless gaming device infront of a gaming machine may require a resolution accuracy of about 1½feet or less.

The location manager 1010 may also keep a record of a status of each ofthe wireless activities involving wireless gaming devices and thelocations of these devices. This information may be used to simplify thelocation process. For instance, the location manager 1010 may store arecord that the RFID tag 1018 has been used to initiate a loyaltyprogram session on gaming machine 1003. If the loyalty program sessionusing RFID tag 1018 is still in session when an attempt is made ongaming machine 1000 to start a loyalty program session using RFID tag1016, then the location manager 1010 may be able to eliminate RFID tag1018 as the RFID tag that is to be used to initiate a loyalty programsession on gaming machine 1000. In other embodiments, the locationmanager 1010 may assign communication frequencies for different RFIDtags to use or may instruct, at times, different RFID tags to turnthemselves off or not reply for a period of time. This strategy mayeliminate conflicts between overlapping signals from nearby RFID tags.

In the present invention, the functions of the smart card, describedabove, may be performed by other wireless gaming devices. For instance,a player may carry a personal digital assistant (PDA) that executesgaming applications, and may communicate with the non-gaming activityplayer tracking unit 27 or gaming activity player tracking unit at thegaming machine via a wireless communication interface. One example of aPDA that may be adapted for use with the present invention is the PalmVII from Palm, Inc., Santa Clara, Calif.

Referring now to FIG. 14, some additional embodiments of the inventionwill be described. It will be appreciated the layout, the numbers andtypes of gaming machines and other devices, shops, etc., is purely forthe sake of example and that other layouts, etc., are within the scopeand spirit of the invention. In this example, gaming establishment 1400includes valet area 1430, lobby 1402 and nearby shops 1404, 1406, 1408,1410 and 1412. These shops may include a range of retail establishments,including but not limited to souvenir shops, jewelry stores, clothingstores and the like.

Food and beverage establishments 1414, 1416, 1418 and 1420 may includerestaurants, sushi bars, buffets, or any such dining and/or drinkingestablishment. Bar 1422 is an island in the midst of the maincasino/gaming area 1426 that includes various gaming machines 1427.Preferably, at least some of gaming machines 1427 are configured forcommunication with other devices, including but not limited to one ormore of servers 1448, in order to provide various features discussedelsewhere herein. Auditorium 1424 includes a stage and seating (notshown) for live performances. At the moment indicated in FIG. 14, anumber of patrons 1460 are exiting auditorium 1424.

Operators 1445 and various devices for providing services and managinggaming establishment 1400 may be seen in control room 1428. This areaincludes host devices 1442 to facilitate the communication of operators1445 with various other devices, such as other host devices 1442 (whichmay serve as cash registers, hotel registration terminals, etc.), PDAs1438, laptops 1440, gaming machines 1427, etc. Host devices 1442 maycomprise desktop computers, laptops, workstations, or other suchdevices. Operators 1445 may also communicate with other people,including but not limited to casino personnel 1447, via PDAs 1438,telephones, etc.

Host devices 1442 (and other devices, as needed) are also configured forcommunication with servers 1448, computing devices 1450, storage devices1452 and external network 1458, via gateway 1454 and firewall 1456.Network 1458 is the Internet in this example, but may be one or morepublic or private networks. According to some implementations of theinvention, additional storage devices and related devices may beaccessed via network 1458, e.g., a storage area network (“SAN”) or othertypes of network storage.

Servers 1448 and/or computing devices 1450 may be configured to performvarious functions, including but not limited to player loyalty(including but not limited to player tracking), licensing, gaming,accounting, security services, etc. These functions may includefunctions known in the art and functions specific to the presentinvention. Accordingly, at least some of servers 1448 may be configuredfor communication with gaming machines 1427 in to provide server-basedgaming features, e.g., as described elsewhere herein.

Control room 1428 includes a plurality of monitors 1443 for, inter alia,receiving image data from cameras 1432. Cameras 1432 may include, forexample, closed circuit television (“CCTV”) cameras, closed circuitdigital photography (“CCDP”) cameras, range cameras and/or webcams.Accordingly, the image data displayed on monitors 1443 may include stilldigital images, video feeds, freeze-frames, etc. Such image data may beused for various purposes, including not only security purposes known inthe art but also some implementations of the present invention.

Some such implementations involve facial recognition systems. A facialrecognition system is a computer-driven application for identifying aperson from one or more digital images. This is generally accomplishedby comparing selected facial features in the live image with storedfacial recognition data. Facial recognition data (some of which may bereferred to as a “faceprint” or the like) may be compared to other typesof data for more reliable identification. Such data may includebiometric data, such as fingerprint or eye iris recognition dataobtained from biometric devices 1476 or elsewhere. Some embodiments ofthe invention provide for biometric devices 1476 to gather biometricdata unobtrusively, e.g., by including a fingerprint and/or thumbprintreader in one or more control buttons of a gaming machine. According tosome implementations of the invention, a tentative patron identificationmay be evaluated in view of other biometric data, player preference data(e.g., as previously compiled in a player loyalty and/or player trackingdatabase), hotel data, retail data, restaurant/beverage data and/orother data that may be available from other parts of gamingestablishment 1400 or elsewhere.

Facial recognition algorithms include eigenface, fisherface, the HiddenMarkov model, and the neuronal motivated Dynamic Link Matching. Anemerging trend uses the visual details of the skin, as captured instandard digital or scanned images. However, two-dimensional facerecognition algorithms have shown to be sensitive to changes inlighting, different facial expressions, make-up and head orientation.

Three-dimensional face recognition (3D face recognition) methods involvethe three-dimensional geometry of the human face. Some details of recent3D face recognition methods are described by A. M. Bronstein, M. M.Bronstein and R. Kimmel in “Three-Dimensional Face Recognition” (Intl.Journal of Computer Vision, Vol. 64/1, pp. 5-30, August 2005), which ishereby incorporated by reference. It has been shown that 3D facerecognition methods can achieve significantly higher accuracy than their2D counterparts, rivaling fingerprint recognition in accuracy. Some 3Dface recognition techniques involve measuring geometry of relativelyrigid features of the face. Other methods use a 3D model to improveaccuracy of traditional 2D facial recognition techniques by transformingthe head into a known view. Some 3D face recognition methods implementdepth perception by projecting a grid onto the face and integratingvideo capture of the face into a high-resolution 3D model. 3D facerecognition methods generally require the acquisition of 3D images,which may require a range camera. Accordingly, the data storage andcomputational requirements for 3D face recognition methods are likely tobe greater than those for 2D methods.

Computing devices 1450 may be desktop computers, workstations, bladeservers, mainframe computers, supercomputers or other such devices. Thetype and number of computing devices 1450 may be selected according tothe speed and number of calculations and other processes that will berequired of them. For example, one or more of computing devices 1450 (orother devices) may be used for calculations involved in biometric dataanalysis, such as calculations for facial recognition systems.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 14, a plurality of RFID readers 1444are disposed in various locations of gaming establishment 1400. RFIDreaders 1444 and related devices may be used, for example, to determinethe location of a patron's RFID device. Such a device may be a dongle, abracelet, a “smart card” (which may serve as a player loyalty and/orplayer tracking card) or another such device. RFID readers 1444 andrelated devices may also be used to determine the location of a portablegaming device that includes an RFID tag, etc. Further examples of howRFID readers 1444 and related devices may be used according to thepresent invention are described elsewhere herein.

Some of network devices 1446 may be switches, middleware servers and/orother intermediate network devices in communication with RFID readers1444 and at least one of servers 1448. Depending in part on the size ofthe gaming establishment(s) involved, the number of RFID readers, etc.,it may be advantageous to deploy various RFID-related devices at varioushierarchical levels of an RFID network, which may include devicesoutside of gaming establishment 1400. Some such devices and networks aredescribed in “The EPCglobal Architecture Framework: EPCglobal FinalVersion of 1 Jul. 2005,” which is hereby incorporated by reference. Somenetwork devices 1446 may comprise wireless access points for providing acommunication link with wireless devices, including but not limited toPDAs 1438.

Some implementations of the invention will now be discussed withreference to FIG. 15A et seq. It will be appreciated that the steps ofthese methods (as with other methods shown and described herein) are notnecessarily performed in the order indicated. It should also beunderstood that the methods of the invention may include more or fewersteps than are indicated.

In step 1505, a patron approaches a gaming establishment. For example, apatron may arrive in one of cars 1470 depicted in FIG. 14. In general, apatron's identity will not be known at this time. However, there maynonetheless be indications that the patron may be relatively more likelythan other patrons to spend a significant amount of money while visitingthe gaming establishment. Such a patron may be referred to herein as a“potential high roller” or the like. The evaluation of such indications,if any, takes place in step 1510. For example, the patron may arrive ina particularly expensive automobile. The patron (or the patron'scompanion(s)) may be wearing an expensive watch, expensive clothingand/or expensive jewelry. Relevant observations may be made by a humanbeing and/or by one by or more devices according to images received bycameras 1432. Accordingly, step 1510 may be performed, at least in part,by one or more valet attendants 1434, operators 1445 and/or by devicesused by such persons.

In some such implementations, a rule set is applied by a host device (orthe like) according to observed indicia to determine the outcome of step1510. Such a rule set may be constructed by using information found inboth gaming establishment-related databases (e.g., a player loyaltyand/or player tracking database, a hotel management database, a retaildatabase, a restaurant and/or beverage database, an entertainmentdatabase, etc.) and/or external databases in order to flagcharacteristics associated with patrons who have spent relatively largeramounts of money in gaming establishments. In some such implementations,an estimate is made regarding the likely value of the patron to thecasino and patrons are categorized and/or ranked accordingly. Differentlevels of service/attention/comps may be provided for patrons havingdifferent levels of estimated value.

If it is determined in step 1510 that the patron is a potential highroller, the patron will receive special treatment according to someimplementations of the invention. For example, a special greeting and/orspecial service may be extended to the patron and to the patron'scompanion(s), if any. (Step 1515.)

Additional measures may be taken, including but not limited to thedevotion of relatively more resources in attempts to identify thepatron. If the patron can be identified (at least preliminarily), moreinformation may be determined about the patron according to public orprivate databases. Some such methods are described in detail below.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 14, patron 1466 a has been identifiedas a potential high roller. Therefore, patron 1466 a and companion 1468a will receive a special greeting, e.g., from valet personnel 1434and/or bell staff 1472. Valet personnel 1434, operators 1445 (and/ordevices involved in performing step 1510) may communicate with bellstaff 1472 and/or hotel desk staff 1473 to facilitate this process.Moreover, if patron 1466 a and companion 1468 a will be staying in thehotel of gaming establishment 1400 (only the lobby 1402 of which isshown in FIG. 14), bell staff 1472 and/or hotel desk staff 1473 may takecare of check-in for patron 1466 a and companion 1468 a, escort themdirectly to their room, etc.

In step 1520, at least some data are gathered with regard to a patron,even if there is little or no reason to assume that the patron is a highroller. For example, image data may be acquired from one or more ofcameras 1432. Some level of facial recognition analysis may beperformed. If one or more of RFID readers 1444 detects an RFID tag, the“tag read” may be analyzed to see if there is a correspondence with aknown individual. For example, a patron may possess some type of devicethat bears an RFID tag identifying the patron. The device may be, forexample, a player loyalty and/or player tracking device such as a “smartcard.” If the patron can be identified as a member of the gamingestablishment 1400's player loyalty and/or player tracking program, thepatron may be identified. In some implementations, step 1520 may beperformed prior to or during step 1515 if, for example, an RFID-enabledplayer tracking card (or another RFID tag that identifies the patron) isdetected as the patron is arriving. In such instances, a patron may begreeted by name.

If a patron is positively identified in step 1525, the process continuesto step 1535. If not, an identification code of some type is associatedwith the patron. (Step 1530.) In this way, even if a patron is not amember of the gaming establishment's player loyalty/player trackingprogram and/or prefers not to be identified by name, data regarding thepatron may be gathered and stored. Such a process may be referred toherein as “anonymous player tracking” or the like.

Many patrons prefer to be anonymous. The present invention allowsplayers to remain un-identified by name, yet still allows a gamingestablishment to identify patrons of interest, gather data regardingthem and differentiate the treatment of patrons accordingly.

For an unidentified patron having no detected RFID tag, an ID code maysimply be associated with image data, facial recognition data, voicedata and/or other biometric data. If a patron has an RFID tag thatcannot be identified, the tag read data may be used as the ID code orassociated with another ID code that is assigned by gaming establishment1400. Any such RFID tag may be used to identify and locate a patronwithin a network of RFID readers 1444. However, some implementations ofthe invention allow a patron to “opt out” of this type of program.

In step 1535, patrons are ranked and/or categorized. Various types ofranking and/or classification schemes may be employed, some of which aredescribed in detail herein. A simple classification scheme may place allpatrons into one of two categories: (1) patrons worth the dedication ofresources; and (2) patrons not worth the dedication of resources.

However, alternative implementations of the invention may includemultiple gradations of patrons who are deemed to be worth the dedicationof resources. For example, there could be N categories of patrons deemedto be worth the dedication of resources, with different amounts ofresources that are potentially available to and/or directed towards apatron. FIG. 14 illustrates one such implementation, wherein N=2.Patrons 1466 and their companions 1468 are placed in the highestcategory. Patrons 1464 (two of whom may be seen in auditorium 1424) arein the second-highest category. In this implementation, only patrons inthese two categories will receive special services, directed marketing,etc., according to the present invention.

Although the terms “rank” and “category” may sometimes be usedsynonymously, in some implementations of the invention the terms mayhave different meanings. In such implementations, a “category”corresponds to a level of resources that a gaming establishment maypotentially direct towards a patron according to method of theinvention. As used herein, the term “resources” is used to include time,effort, services, comps, money, etc. In some implementations, the levelof resources corresponding with a category may be zero, but this doesnot mean that a patron will receive, e.g., no service or poor service.Instead, it means that the no additional resources, over and above thenormal level of service, amenities, etc., will be provided according tothe present invention.

Moreover, there may be several ranks that correspond with a category. Inone such example, the top five patrons (ranks 1 through 5) may be placedin the highest category, the patrons ranked 6^(th) through 20^(th) maybe placed in the next (lower) category, etc.

A similar example is illustrated in FIG. 15B. Table 1570 sets forthranks 1575, categories 1580 and response levels 1585 according to oneimplementation of the invention. In this example, the top ten patrons(ranks 1 through 10) are placed in the highest category, “A,” whichcorresponds to the highest response level. The patrons ranked 11^(th)through 50^(th) are placed in the next category “B,” which correspondsto a moderate response level. Patrons ranked 51^(st) through 100^(th)are placed in category “C,” which corresponds to a lower response level.All other patrons are placed in category “D” unless and until theirstatus changes.

However, in some implementations, there may be a different level ofavailable resources corresponding to each rank. In such implementations,a rank is equivalent to a category.

In still other implementations, there is no fixed number of patrons forat least some of the categories. For example, a patron of the playerloyalty and/or player tracking program of gaming establishment 1400 mayalways be entitled to receive (or at least potentially receive) apredetermined level of resources, regardless of the number of otherpatrons present. In such implementations, a patron who is ranked at thehighest level of such a player loyalty and/or player tracking programmight always be in category “A” of FIG. 15B. Similarly, an anonymouspatron who is ranked in a predetermined level according to predeterminedcriteria/metrics may always be placed in a corresponding category.

Alternatively, or additionally, the number of anonymous patrons presentto whom resources will be directed will depend on the number of patronspresent who are in a gaming establishment's player loyalty and/or playertracking program. For example, if there are 8 patrons present who areranked at the highest level of a casino's player tracking program and 30additional players present who are ranked at the second-highest level ofthe casino's player tracking program, only 2 anonymous patrons would beeligible to be in category “A” of FIG. 15B and only 10 more anonymouspatrons would be eligible to be in category “B.” Anonymous patrons whowould otherwise have been placed in category “A” may, for example, beplaced in category “B,” to the extent that space is available.

As noted above, some implementations of the invention provide for anearlier ranking process, which may be a preliminary ranking processbased on first impressions. Accordingly, a threshold determination as towhich patrons are worth the dedication of resources, such as thetargeting of marketing efforts, may already have been made.

However, in some implementations of the invention, patron ranking is adynamic process. Responses will be provided to patrons (or not)according to their category, which may change over time, as well asother factors. (Step 1540.) Examples of additional responses will bedescribed below. To the extent that responses will be provided, they arepreferably not only according to the patron's category, but alsoaccording to known preferences of the patron and/or informationregarding the patron that may suggest such preferences, including butnot limited to demographic data. For patrons who are identified, somesuch preference data may be determined from player loyalty and/or playertracking databases, other gaming establishment-related databases, orpublicly available databases.

Depending on the amount of data to be evaluated and potentially storedregarding patrons, it may be advantageous to store data in a dimensionaldatabase structure. Multi-dimensional database achieve performancelevels that are well in excess of that of relational systems performingsimilar data storage requirements. These high performance levelsencourage and enable On Line Analytical Processing (“OLAP”) and othersuch applications that can provide the ability to analyze large amountsof data with very fast response times.

Other preference data may be based on observations of the patron and/orthe patron's activities. If a patron is seen to be wearing a hat orgarment with a NASCAR-related logo, for example, offers relating to aNASCAR-related event may be directed to the patron. The degree to whichsuch observations and/or responses are made will preferably be basedupon a patron's category, in order to maintain a reasonable relationshipbetween the resources directed towards the patron and the patron'slikely value to the gaming establishment.

The location and/or activities of at least some patrons will bemonitored. (Step 1545.) Some implementations involve tracking a patron'sactivities to determine various preferences, which may include gamingpreferences or other preferences. For example, the time of day a patronlikes to gamble, drink, shop, etc., what wagering games the patronprefers, etc., may be tracked. These data will provide information aboutwhat types of offers the patron may be interested in receiving at aparticular time of day, day of the week, etc. Moreover, a patron'shabits may also be used to verify a tentative identification based onother factors. For example, if there is a strong likelihood of a facialimage match and other such data also match a patron'spreviously-observed habits, this provides a higher likelihood of acorrect patron identification.

If the patron engages in activities that indicate that the patron hasspent (or may spend) a significant amount of money (step 1555), thepatron's rank and/or category may change. (Step 1535.)

Gaming and/or non-gaming activity of all patrons may be monitored tosome degree, even in implementations such as that described with respectto FIG. 15B, wherein no special response will be made to patrons havingthe lowest ranking. However, the degree of monitoring may varyconsiderably, e.g., according to a patron's category. A flexibleapproach to patron monitoring may be important, particularly if patronscannot easily be monitored in a fully automated fashion, e.g., via anRFID network, by GPS, by triangulation (e.g., of a PDA, a cellulartelephone or a mobile gaming device), by using a network of near-fieldmagnetic devices, etc. Monitoring by facial recognition techniques mayrequire a combination of automated processes and human involvement, andmay therefore be more resource-intensive.

More extensive and careful monitoring may be required for patrons in ahigh-level category: such patrons' location and/or activities may needto be closely monitored in order that a high level of service and othersuch resources are directed to the intended patrons. Such patrons may bemonitored even by resource-intensive methods, if necessary.

In contrast, the level of “monitoring” for patrons in, e.g., category Dof FIG. 15B may involve, e.g., only events that may indicate that apatron should be considered for a higher category. For example, if acategory D patron were to order an expensive bottle of wine atrestaurant 1414, this may be considered a “high roller indicium”indicium (step 1555) trigger a re-evaluation of the patron's rank. (Step1535). However, in some implementations, even the locations of categoryD patrons (or the like) will be tracked, e.g., if doing so will notconsume a disproportionate level of resources. For example, if thelocations of such patrons may be tracked by an RFID network, it may bedone.

If it is determined that a patron is leaving the gaming establishment,the process ends. (Step 1560.) Preferably, the patron should no longerbe included in a pool of patrons eligible for directed resources: thepatron's ID may be deleted from a list of patrons currently in thegaming establishment. In some implementations, if the patron had beenranked, e.g., as a category “A” patron, the patron's departure couldtrigger a ranking of patrons still thought to be in the gamingestablishment.

Similarly, the degree to which facial recognition data are obtained maydepend, at least in part, on whether there are convenient alternativemethods of patron tracking. The steps of one relevant method 1600 aredepicted in FIG. 16. In this example, the method continues from step1510 or step 1515 of method 1500, but this need not be the case. In step1610, it is determined whether a device is detected that could be usedto track a patron in a manner that is not resource-intensive. In oneexample, it is determined in step 1610 whether an RFID tag of some kindis associated with the patron and read by an RFID reader. However, step1610 may involve the detection of other devices, such as GPS devices,near-field magnetic devices, etc. In some implementations, step 1610 mayinvolve providing a portable gaming device to a patron and/or detectingsuch a device.

If no such device is detected in step 1610, facial recognition data areobtained in step 1620. (In alternative implementations, facialrecognition data are obtained for all patrons.) In step 1625, it isdetermined whether the patron can be identified. Step 1625 may bepartially or fully automated, depending on the identification method.For example, a patron's RFID device may have been read in step 1610, adatabase may have been searched and a player may have been identified,e.g., by one of servers 1448 of FIG. 14. Alternatively, if theidentification process involves facial recognition, the process may befully automated or may require a degree of human involvement, e.g., tocapture an image for analysis with a patron's head within a certainrange of orientations.

According to some implementations, if a patron cannot be identified atfirst, additional facial recognition data may be obtained. In some suchimplementations, the amount of time and effort spent on identifying aplayer may depend on whether or not there is some indication that theplayer is a potential high roller. For example, a varying limit may beset on the number of iterations between steps 1625 and 1635, accordingto such indicia. If there is some indication that the patron may be abig spender, a relatively higher limit may be set (e.g., 4 or 5iterations instead of 2). Accordingly, step 1630 may involve determiningwhether such a variable limit has been attained. Alternatively, a limitcould be established according to other patron criteria or the samelimit could be set for all patrons. If the patron cannot be identifiedbefore such a limit is attained, an ID code is assigned to the patron(step 1640), as previously described.

If the patron can be identified, in this example it is determined (step1645) whether other data are available for the patron. If so, these dataare obtained (step 1650). If the patron is a member of the gamingestablishment's player loyalty and/or player tracking program, thesedata may include data from a corresponding database. Other gamingestablishment databases and/or external databases may be referenced ifthe player can be identified. For example, a patron's ZIP code(particularly an extended ZIP code) or other address information canprovide insights into the patron's likely level of income, or at leastof wealth. Such information may be available from, e.g., a hotelregistration process. Other types of data may also be correlated withplayer wealth, spending habits, gaming preferences or other preferences.Such data and may be used not only for patron ranking (step 1655), butalso to determine appropriate player rewards, promotions in which aplayer may be interested, etc. In this example, method 1600 reverts backto step 1540 of method 1500, but this need not be the case.

Method 1700 (see FIG. 17) also involves the acquisition of varyinglevels of facial recognition data, according to a player's rank, thelevel of interest in a player, etc. In this example, when a patronapproaches a gaming establishment (step 1705), it is determined whetherthe player can be identified according to a “known location device” suchas an RFID device that the gaming establishment can recognize as beingassociated with the player, a mobile gaming device, a GPS-enableddevice, etc. If so, little or no facial recognition data are obtained(step 1730), because the player can be both identified and trackedwithout reference to such data.

If the player does not carry a known location device, it is determinedwhether the player is a potential high roller as described above. (Step1715.) For example, if the known location device is an RFID deviceassociated with the gaming establishment's player loyalty and/or playertracking program, the player's automobile, jewelry, etc., may notrequire careful scrutiny because a great deal may already be known aboutthe player.

In some implementations, however, step 1715 may be performed even if theplayer has a known location device. The evaluation underlying step 1715may still be fruitful in some instances: such an evaluation may indicaterecent expenditures that signal a change in the patron's fortunes and/ora change in the patron's spending habits.

If insufficient high-roller indicia are detected in step 1715, astandard level of facial recognition data will be acquired. (Step 1725.)The type and quantity of data in a “standard level of facial recognitiondata” is preferably determined by the gaming establishment; variousreasonable metrics may be established within the scope and spirit of theinvention. For example, enough 2D facial recognition data may beacquired to acquire a “faceprint” according to facial recognitionsoftware used by a gaming establishment. Establishing such a “standardlevel of facial recognition data” may allow a reasonable chance ofrecognizing and locating the patron if it becomes desirable to do so. Asbefore, an ID is preferably assigned to unidentified patrons, in orderto allow the facial recognition data to be associated with thesepatrons.

If sufficient high-roller indicia are detected, a relatively higherlevel of facial recognition data may be acquired. (Step 1720.) Forexample, sufficient image data may be acquired for 3D facial imagingmethods and/or for methods that compensate for skin type, as describedelsewhere.

As before, the patron will be rank/categorized according to theavailable data (step 1745) and monitored, e.g., according to thepatron's category. (Step 1740.) Responses will be provided, againpreferably according to the patron's category, but also preferablyaccording to known preferences of the patron and/or informationregarding the patron that may suggest such preferences.

If there are subsequent indications that a patron in a lower categoryshould be re-categorized (as determined in step 1755), it will also bedetermined whether there are adequate facial recognition data for thepatron. (Step 1760.) If not, such data are acquired. (Step 1765.) Forexample, acquiring additional facial recognition data (and/or a higherlevel of facial recognition data) may allow a positive identification ofthe player, which in turn may reveal player preferences, indications offinancial/economic/spending data, etc., from one or more public orprivate databases. Moreover, acquiring a higher level of facialrecognition data may allow a patron to be monitored more easily, therebyallowing accurately targeted responses.

FIG. 18 outlines some steps of method 1800, which indicates furtherdetails regarding a process of ranking and categorizing a patronaccording to some implementations of the invention. In step 1805, apatron is being monitored. In this example, the patron has alreadyentered a gaming establishment and has either been identified or atleast has an assigned code or the like, in order to allow patron data tobe associated with the patron and/or responses to be directed to thepatron (step 1810), if desired. As before, the process ends (as to thatpatron) when a patron leaves. (Steps 1820 and 1865.)

In step 1865, it is determined whether there has been some form ofpatron activity that may potentially affect a patron's rank and/orcategory. For example, the patron may have been observed shopping in anexpensive shop, e.g., for high-end jewelry, watches, clothing, etc. Anactual purchase of an expensive item, an expensive dinner, wine or otherdrinks, registering to stay in a luxury suite at the hotel, high-stakeswagering, or any other predetermined metric may cause a positiveindication for step 1825.

The patron's data will be updated, as appropriate. (Step 1830.) In someimplementations, a point-based system is applied to activitiespertaining to step 1825. In some such implementations, the number ofpoints is proportional to the amount of money spent. Gaming andnon-gaming activities may be treated as being equally significant insome implementations, but not in others. For example, a given amountwagered may be assigned a higher (or lower) point value than the sameamount spent on a bottle of wine. In some implementations, even browsingin or near a high-end shop can result in the award of points.

In some implementations of the invention, the accumulated points may beloyalty points of a patron loyalty system such as that described abovewith reference to FIG. 3 et seq., wherein points accumulated by patronsfor both gaming and non-gaming activities may be redeemed upon demand bythe patrons for goods and services. Such a program may be referred toherein as a “casino enterprise point system” or the like. As describedabove, some implementations do not require patrons to enroll in a playerloyalty program; points may be accumulated and redeemed anonymously.However, as noted above, such a program may include not only gaming andnon-gaming activities in a particular gaming establishment, but alsopurchases (or other activities) in affiliated businesses at other sites.For gaming operators whose enterprises span multiple jurisdictions, thesystem should differentiate clearly unique jurisdictional requirementsand isolate locations that do not allow certain types of promotions orfeatures.

Preferably, points may be awarded in a flexible manner that may betailored by a gaming establishment. A particular gaming establishmentmay choose to award more (or fewer) points for each dollar spent in ahotel or in a shop than wagered in a casino. For example, at certaintimes a gaming establishment may create incentives for patrons topatronize targeted portions of a casino. At such times, patrons mayaccumulate points in a particular shop, restaurant, entertainment venue,etc., at a higher rate than during other times. A gaming establishmentmay encourage participation in a jackpot or the like by allowing apatron to qualify for the jackpot by participating in various activitiesin addition to putting money in gaming machine, such as spending moneyin a retail location, buying a meal and/or a drink, making a purchasefrom a hotel room, playing a game from a hotel room, etc. A particulargaming establishment may desire to change point accumulation criteriabased on various criteria, such as time of day, time of year (e.g.,holidays), during special events (e.g., NASCAR weekend) or conferences,spend rates, patron rank/category, target spending criteria, etc.

According to method 1800, each event that may change a patron's statusmay not necessarily trigger a re-assessment of patron ranking. In thisexample, it is determined whether a threshold is exceeded before such are-ranking process is triggered. (See optional step 1835.) The thresholdmay be relative (e.g., to a last point total of a patron) or absolute(e.g., with reference to “break points” between categories of patronsand/or levels of a player loyalty and/or player tracking program). Thethreshold(s) may be dynamically adjustable, e.g., to prevent re-rankingprocesses from being initiated too frequently when a gamingestablishment is busy.

If such a threshold is exceeded, the patrons are re-ranked. In thisexample, there are multiple rankings within at least some categories(e.g., as described with reference to FIG. 15B). Therefore, it is thendetermined whether the re-ranking process has resulted in a change incategory for one or more patrons. (Step 1845.) If so, the category isupdated in step 1850.

In step 1855, it is determined whether other types of patron data arenow desirable, in view of a change in patron category. For example, if apatron was previously in a lower category (e.g., category C or D of FIG.15B) and has been re-classified in a sufficiently higher category (e.g.,category A or B of FIG. 15B), it may now be worth making a moreconcerted effort to identify a patron and/or search databases forspending, preference and other information regarding the patron. If thepatron has not previously been identified, a preliminary step may be theacquisition of additional biometric data. (Step 1860.) For example,image data suitable for a 3D facial recognition process may be acquiredand the 3D facial recognition process may be invoked.

If additional patron data are acquired, they are associated with thepatron and stored. (Step 1830.) Such data may be used in both amonitoring process (step 1805) and to determine appropriate responsesfor a patron. (Step 1810.)

FIG. 19 illustrates the steps of method 1900, which sets forth someexamples of responses for a patron who has been placed in a high-levelcategory. Various high-level patrons 1466 and their companions 1468, asindicated in FIG. 14, will be referenced in this discussion. As withother method of the invention, the steps of method 1900 are notnecessarily performed in the order indicated.

In step 1905, the patrons (and their companions) are being monitored. Ifit is determined in step 1910 that a patron is near a gaming machine,the gaming machine may be configured according to a favorite game. (Step1920.) The execution of step 1920 may involve the implementation of aserver-based gaming system, as described elsewhere herein, as well asthe determination of game preferences from patron data. In this example,when it is determined that high-level patron 1466 c is having a drink atbar 1422, the game preferences of patron 1466 c are determined andgaming machine 1427 c is configured accordingly. In some implementationsof the invention, multiple nearby gaming machines (e.g., the bank ofgaming machines that includes gaming machine 1427 c) may be configuredaccording to the preferences of a group of patrons (e.g., patron 1466 cand other patrons nearby). Special promotions (or other responses) maybe directed to patron 1466 c via gaming machine 1427 c or otherwise,e.g., via a mobile device such as a PDA, a mobile gaming device, acellular telephone, etc., associated with patron 1466 c. Preferably, thepromotion is tailored according to information regarding thepreferences, or at least the demographics, of patron 1466 c.

In step 1925, it is determined whether a high-level patron is seeking toenter a restaurant, club, or the like. In this example, it is observedthat high-level patron 1466 b and companion 1468 b are at the entranceof restaurant 1414. The staff of restaurant 1414 are notified thatpatron 1466 b and companion 1468 b should be provided with top-levelservice. This notification may occur in any convenient fashion, e.g.,via an RFID system if patron 1466 b and/or companion 1468 b have a knownRFID device, via cellular phone, PDA, host device 1442, etc. Forexample, patron 1466 b and companion 1468 b may be seated even if theydo not have a reservation and restaurant 1414 is very busy. They may beprovided with free drinks while their table is being prepared.

Similarly, when a high-level patron or companion is observed in or neara shop (step 1935), high-level service, discounts, free shipping, etc.,may be provided. (Step 1940.) For example, patron 1466 d was pleasedwhen candy store 1408 shipped the chocolates she had purchased to afriend at no charge. When a high-level patron or companion is observedto be leaving the gaming establishment, he or she is given a specialfarewell. (Step 1950.)

Some gaming networks described herein include a central system that isconfigured to download game software and data to networked gamingmachines. The game theme of a particular networked gaming machine (or agroup of networked gaming machines) may be changed according toinstructions received from the central system. Such gaming networksallow for the convenient provisioning of networked gaming machines andallow additional game themes to be easily and conveniently added, ifdesired. Related software, including but not limited to game software,may be downloaded to networked gaming machines.

Relevant information is set forth in U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/225,407, by Wolf et al., entitled “METHODS AND DEVICES FOR MANAGINGGAMING NETWORKS” and filed Sep. 12, 2005, in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/757,609 by Nelson et al., entitled “METHODS AND APPARATUSFOR GAMING DATA DOWNLOADING” and filed on Jan. 14, 2004, in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/938,293 by Benbrahim et al., entitled “METHODSAND APPARATUS FOR DATA COMMUNICATION IN A GAMING SYSTEM” and filed onSep. 10, 2004, in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/225,337 by Nguyenet al., filed Sep. 12, 2005 and entitled “DISTRIBUTED GAME SERVICES” andin U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/173,442 by Kinsley et al., filedJul. 1, 2005 and entitled “METHODS AND DEVICES FOR DOWNLOADING GAMES OFCHANCE,” all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentirety and for all purposes. Some examples of gaming networks anddevices are set forth below.

Example System Architecture

One example of a network topology for implementing some aspects of thepresent invention is shown in FIG. 20. Those of skill in the art willrealize that this exemplary architecture and the related functionalityare merely examples and that the present invention encompasses manyother such embodiments and methods. Here, for example, a single gamingestablishment 2005 is illustrated, which is a casino in this example.However, it should be understood that some implementations of thepresent invention involve multiple gaming establishments.

Gaming establishment 2005 includes 16 gaming machines 2, each of whichis part of a bank 2010 of gaming machines 2. In this example, gamingestablishment 2005 also includes a bank of networked gaming tables 2017.It will be appreciated that many gaming establishments include hundredsor even thousands of gaming machines 2 and/or gaming tables 2017, notall of which are included in a bank. However, the present invention maybe implemented in gaming establishments having any number of gamingmachines, gaming tables, etc.

Various alternative network topologies can be used to implementdifferent aspects of the invention and/or to accommodate varying numbersof networked devices. For example, gaming establishments with very largenumbers of gaming machines 2 may require multiple instances of somenetwork devices (e.g., of main network device 2025, which combinesswitching and routing functionality in this example) and/or theinclusion of other network devices not shown in FIG. 20. For example,some implementations of the invention include one or more middlewareservers disposed between gaming machines 2 and server 2030. Suchmiddleware servers can provide various useful functions, including butnot limited to the filtering and/or aggregation of data received frombank switches 2015, from individual gaming machines and from otherplayer terminals. Some implementations of the invention include loadbalancing methods and devices for managing network traffic.

Each bank 2010 has a corresponding bank switch 2015, which may be aconventional bank switch. Each bank switch is connected to server-basedgaming (“SBG”) server 2030 via main network device 2025, which combinesswitching and routing functionality in this example. Although variousfloor communication protocols may be used, some preferredimplementations use IGT's open, Ethernet-based SuperSAS® protocol, whichIGT makes available for downloading without charge. However, otherprotocols such as Best of Breed (“BOB”) may be used to implement variousaspects of SBG. IGT has also developed a gaming-industry-specifictransport layer called CASH that rides on top of TCP/IP and offersadditional functionality and security.

SBG server 2030, License Manager 2031, Arbiter 133, servers 2032, 2034,2036 and 2038, and main network device 2025 are disposed within computerroom 2020 of gaming establishment 2005. In practice, more or fewerservers may be used. Some of these servers may be configured to performtasks relating to player loyalty and/or player tracking,bonusing/progressives, etc. Some servers may be configured to performtasks specific to the present invention. License Manager 2031 may alsobe implemented, at least in part, via a server or a similar device. Someexemplary operations of License Manager 2031 are described in detail inU.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/225,408, entitled “METHODS ANDDEVICES FOR AUTHENTICATION AND LICENSING IN A GAMING NETWORK” by Kinsleyet al., which is hereby incorporated by reference.

SBG server 2030 can also be configured to implement, at least in part,various aspects of the present invention. Some preferred embodiments ofSBG server 2030 and the other servers shown in FIG. 20 include (or areat least in communication with) clustered CPUs, redundant storagedevices, including backup storage devices, switches, etc. Such storagedevices may include a redundant array of inexpensive disks (“RAID”),back-up hard drives and/or tape drives, etc. Preferably, a Radius and aDHCP server are also configured for communication with the gamingnetwork. Some implementations of the invention provide one or more ofthese servers in the form of blade servers.

In some implementations of the invention, many of these devices(including but not limited to License Manager 2031, servers 2032, 2034,2036 and 2038, and main network device 2025) are mounted in a singlerack with SBG server 2030. Accordingly, many or all such devices willsometimes be referenced in the aggregate as an “SBG server.” However, inalternative implementations, one or more of these devices is incommunication with SBG server 2030 and/or other devices of the networkbut located elsewhere. For example, some of the devices could be mountedin separate racks within computer room 2020 or located elsewhere on thenetwork. For example, it can be advantageous to store large volumes ofdata elsewhere via a storage area network (“SAN”).

In some embodiments, these components are SBG server 2030 preferably hasan uninterruptible power supply (“UPS”). The UPS may be, for example, arack-mounted UPS module.

Computer room 2020 may include one or more operator consoles or otherhost devices that are configured for communication with SBG server 2030.Such host devices may be provided with software, hardware and/orfirmware for implementing various aspects of the invention; many ofthese aspects involve controlling SBG server 2030. However, such hostdevices need not be located within computer room 2020. Wired host device2060 (which is a laptop computer in this example) and wireless hostdevice (which is a PDA in this example) may be located elsewhere ingaming establishment 2005 or at a remote location.

Arbiter 133 may be implemented, for example, via software that isrunning on a server or another networked device. Arbiter 133 serves asan intermediary between different devices on the network. Someimplementations of Arbiter 133 are described in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/948,387, entitled “METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR NEGOTIATINGCOMMUNICATIONS WITHIN A GAMING NETWORK” and filed Sep. 23, 2004 (the“Arbiter Application”), which is incorporated herein by reference andfor all purposes. In some preferred implementations, Arbiter 133 is arepository for the configuration information required for communicationbetween devices on the gaming network (and, in some implementations,devices outside the gaming network). Although Arbiter 133 can beimplemented in various ways, one exemplary implementation is discussedin the following paragraphs.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram of a simplified communication topologybetween a gaming unit 21, the network computer 23 and the Arbiter 133.Although only one gaming unit 21, one network computer 23 and oneArbiter 133 are shown in FIG. 21, it should be understood that thefollowing examples may be applicable to different types of networkgaming devices within the gaming network 12 beyond the gaming unit 21and the network computer 23, and may include different numbers ofnetwork computers, gaming security arbiters and gaming units. Forexample, a single Arbiter 133 may be used for secure communicationsamong a plurality of network computers 23 and tens, hundreds orthousands of gaming units 21. Likewise, multiple gaming securityarbiters 46 may be utilized for improved performance and otherscalability factors.

Referring to FIG. 21, the Arbiter 133 may include an arbiter controller121 that may comprise a program memory 122, a microcontroller ormicroprocessor (MP) 124, a random-access memory (RAM) 126 and aninput/output (I/O) circuit 128, all of which may be interconnected viaan address/data bus 129. The network computer 23 may also include acontroller 131 that may comprise a program memory 132, a microcontrolleror microprocessor (MP) 134, a random-access memory (RAM) 136 and aninput/output (I/O) circuit 138, all of which may be interconnected viaan address/data bus 139. It should be appreciated that although theArbiter 133 and the network computer 23 are each shown with only onemicroprocessor 124, 134, the controllers 121, 131 may each includemultiple microprocessors 124, 134. Similarly, the memory of thecontrollers 121, 131 may include multiple RAMs 126, 136 and multipleprogram memories 122, 132. Although the I/O circuits 128, 138 are eachshown as a single block, it should be appreciated that the I/O circuits128, 138 may include a number of different types of I/O circuits. TheRAMs 124, 134 and program memories 122, 132 may be implemented assemiconductor memories, magnetically readable memories, and/or opticallyreadable memories, for example.

Although the program memories 122, 132 are shown in FIG. 21 as read-onlymemories (ROM) 122, 132, the program memories of the controllers 121,131 may be a read/write or alterable memory, such as a hard disk. In theevent a hard disk is used as a program memory, the address/data buses129, 139 shown schematically in FIG. 21 may each comprise multipleaddress/data buses, which may be of different types, and there may be anI/O circuit disposed between the address/data buses.

As shown in FIG. 21, the gaming unit 21 may be operatively coupled tothe network computer 23 via the data link 25. The gaming unit 21 mayalso be operatively coupled to the Arbiter 133 via the data link 47, andthe network computer 23 may likewise be operatively coupled to theArbiter 133 via the data link 47. Communications between the gaming unit21 and the network computer 23 may involve different information typesof varying levels of sensitivity resulting in varying levels ofencryption techniques depending on the sensitivity of the information.For example, communications such as drink orders and statisticalinformation may be considered less sensitive. A drink order orstatistical information may remain encrypted, although with moderatelysecure encryption techniques, such as RC4, resulting in less processingpower and less time for encryption. On the other hand, financialinformation (e.g., account information, winnings, etc.), game downloadinformation (e.g., game software and game licensing information) andpersonal information (e.g., social security number, personalpreferences, etc.) may be encrypted with stronger encryption techniquessuch as DES or 3DES to provide increased security.

As disclosed in further detail in the Arbiter Application, the Arbiter133 may verify the authenticity of each network gaming device. TheArbiter 133 may receive a request for a communication session from anetwork device. For ease of explanation, the requesting network devicemay be referred to as the client, and the requested network device maybe referred to as the host. The client may be any device on the network12 and the request may be for a communication session with any othernetwork device. The client may specify the host, or the gaming securityarbiter may select the host based on the request and based oninformation about the client and potential hosts. The Arbiter 133 mayprovide encryption keys (session keys) for the communication session tothe client via the secure communication channel. Either the host and/orthe session key may be provided in response to the request, or may havebeen previously provided. The client may contact the host to initiatethe communication session. The host may then contact the Arbiter 133 todetermine the authenticity of the client. The Arbiter 133 may provideaffirmation (or lack thereof) of the authenticity of the client to thehost and provide a corresponding session key, in response to which thenetwork devices may initiate the communication session directly witheach other using the session keys to encrypt and decrypt messages.

Alternatively, upon receiving a request for a communication session, theArbiter 133 may contact the host regarding the request and providecorresponding session keys to both the client and the host. The Arbiter133 may then initiate either the client or the host to begin theircommunication session. In turn, the client and host may begin thecommunication session directly with each other using the session keys toencrypt and decrypt messages. An additional explanation of thecommunication request, communication response and key distribution isprovided in the Arbiter Application.

Wireless devices are particularly useful for managing a gaming network.Such wireless devices could include, but are not limited to, laptops,PDAs or even cellular telephones. Referring once again to FIG. 20, oneor more network devices in gaming establishment 2005 can be configuredas wireless access points. For example, a casino manager may use awireless handheld device to revise and/or schedule gaming machineconfigurations while roaming the casino floor. Similarly, arepresentative of a regulatory body could use a PDA to verify gamingmachine configurations, generate reports, view activity logs, etc.,while on the casino floor.

If a host device is located in a remote location, security methods anddevices (such as firewalls, authentication and/or encryption) should bedeployed in order to prevent the unauthorized access of the gamingnetwork. Similarly, any other connection between gaming network 2005 andthe outside world should only be made with trusted devices via a securelink, e.g., via a virtual private network (“VPN”) tunnel. For example,the illustrated connection between SBG 2030, gateway 2050 and centralsystem 2063 (here, IGT.com) that may be used for game downloads, etc.,is advantageously made via a VPN tunnel.

An Internet-based VPN uses the open, distributed infrastructure of theInternet to transmit data between sites. A VPN may emulate a private IPnetwork over public or shared infrastructures. A VPN that supports onlyIP traffic is called an IP-VPN. VPNs provide advantages to both theservice provider and its customers. For its customers, a VPN can extendthe IP capabilities of a corporate site to remote offices and/or userswith intranet, extranet, and dial-up services. This connectivity may beachieved at a lower cost to the gaming entity with savings in capitalequipment, operations, and services. Details of VPN methods that may beused with the present invention are described in the reference, “VirtualPrivate Networks-Technologies and Solutions,” by R. Yueh and T. Strayer,Addison-Wesley, 2001, ISBN#0-201-70209-6, which is incorporated hereinby reference and for all purposes.

There are many ways in which IP VPN services may be implemented, suchas, for example, Virtual Leased Lines, Virtual Private Routed Networks,Virtual Private Dial Networks, Virtual Private LAN Segments, etc.Additionally VPNs may be implemented using a variety of protocols, suchas, for example, IP Security (IPSec) Protocol, Layer 2 TunnelingProtocol, Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) Protocol, etc. Details ofthese protocols, including RFC reports, may be obtained from the VPNConsortium, an industry trade group (http://www.vpnc.com, VPNC, SantaCruz, Calif.).

For security purposes, any information transmitted to or from a gamingestablishment over a public network may be encrypted. In oneimplementation, the information may be symmetrically encrypted using asymmetric encryption key, where the symmetric encryption key isasymmetrically encrypted using a private key. The public key may beobtained from a remote public key server. The encryption algorithm mayreside in processor logic stored on the gaming machine. When a remoteserver receives a message containing the encrypted data, the symmetricencryption key is decrypted with a private key residing on the remoteserver and the symmetrically encrypted information sent from the gamingmachine is decrypted using the symmetric encryption key. A differentsymmetric encryption key is used for each transaction where the key israndomly generated. Symmetric encryption and decryption is preferablyapplied to most information because symmetric encryption algorithms tendto be 100-10,000 faster than asymmetric encryption algorithms.

As mentioned elsewhere herein, U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/225,408, entitled “METHODS AND DEVICES FOR AUTHENTICATION ANDLICENSING IN A GAMING NETWORK” by Kinsley et al., describes novelmethods and devices for authentication, game downloading and gamelicense management. This application has been incorporated herein byreference.

Providing a secure connection between the local devices of the SBGsystem and IGT's central system allows for the deployment of manyadvantageous features. For example, a customer (e.g., an employee of agaming establishment) can log onto an account of central system 2063 (inthis example, IGT.com) to obtain the account information such as thecustomer's current and prior account status.

Moreover, such a secure connection may be used by the central system2063 to collect information regarding a customer's system. Suchinformation includes, but is not limited to, error logs for use indiagnostics and troubleshooting. Some implementations of the inventionallow a central system to collect other types of information, e.g.,information about the usage of certain types of gaming software, revenueinformation regarding certain types of games and/or gaming machines,etc. Such information includes, but is not limited to, informationregarding the revenue attributable to particular games at specific timesof day, days of the week, etc. Such information may be obtained, atleast in part, by reference to an accounting system of the gamingnetwork(s), as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/225,407,by Wolf et al., entitled “METHODS AND DEVICES FOR MANAGING GAMINGNETWORKS,” which has been incorporated herein by reference.

Automatic updates of a customer's SBG server may also be enabled. Forexample, central system 2063 may notify a local SBG server regarding newproducts and/or product updates. For example, central system 2063 maynotify a local SBG server regarding updates of new gaming software,gaming software updates, peripheral updates, the status of currentgaming software licenses, etc. In some implementations of the invention,central system 2063 may notify a local SBG server (or another deviceassociated with a gaming establishment) that an additionaltheme-specific data set and/or updates for a previously-downloadedglobal payout set are available. Alternatively, such updates could beautomatically provided to the local SBG server and downloaded tonetworked gaming machines.

After the local SBG server receives this information, it can identifyrelevant products of interest. For example, the local SBG server mayidentify gaming software that is currently in use (or at least licensed)by the relevant gaming entity and send a notification to one or morehost devices, e.g., via email. If an update or a new software product isdesired, it can be downloaded from the central system. Some relevantdownloading methods are described elsewhere herein and in applicationsthat have been incorporated herein by reference, e.g., in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/078,966. Similarly, a customer may choose torenew a gaming software license via a secure connection with centralsystem 2063 in response to such a notification.

Secure communication links allow notifications to be sent securely froma local SBG server to host devices outside of a gaming establishment.For example, a local SBG server can be configured to transmitautomatically generated email reports, text messages, etc., based onpredetermined events that will sometimes be referred to herein as“triggers.” Such triggers can include, but are not limited to, thecondition of a gaming machine door being open, cash box full, machinenot responding, verification failure, etc.

In addition, providing secure connections between different gamingestablishments can enable alternative implementations of the invention.For example, a number of gaming establishments, each with a relativelysmall number of gaming machines, may be owned and/or controlled by thesame entity. In such situations, having secure communications betweengaming establishments makes it possible for a gaming entity to use asingle SBG server as an interface between central system 2063 and thegaming establishments.

As mentioned elsewhere herein some implementations of the inventioninvolve aggregating data involving multiple patrons. In some suchimplementations, such data aggregations are used to determine patron“traffic patterns” and the like, including but not limited todetermining what games patrons prefer to play and when they prefer toplay them. These data may be used to determine what games to enable in agiven part of the casino during a given time period, thereby more nearlyoptimizing the deployment of games on the casino floor. By combininggame preference data with patron preference and/or demographic data,offers and advertisements for the gaming, retail, beverage, restaurant,club and entertainment sectors of a gaming establishment may be moreoptimally directed to patrons.

Some methods of the invention combine information that can be obtainedfrom one or more gaming establishment databases with some of the SBGfeatures described above. By combining, for example, informationregarding scheduled gaming machine configurations and informationregarding the amount of money that a gaming machine brings in while agaming machine has a particular configuration, gaming machineconfigurations may be optimized to maximize revenue. Some such methodsinvolve determining a first rate of revenue obtained by a gaming machinein the gaming network during a first time when the gaming machine has afirst configuration. The gaming machine is later automaticallyconfigured according to second configuration information supplied by theSBG server, e.g., as scheduled by the Scheduler. A second rate ofrevenue, obtained by the gaming machine during a second time when thegaming machine has the second configuration, is determined, and so on.

After scheduling various configurations at various times, optimumconfigurations for the gaming machine may be determined for varioustimes of day. The SBG system can them provide scheduled optimalconfigurations for the gaming machine at the corresponding times of day.Some implementations provide for groups (e.g., banks) of gaming machinesto be automatically configured according to a predetermined schedule ofoptimal configurations for various times of day, days of the week, timesof the year, etc.

In some such implementations, an average revenue may be computed, basedon revenue from many gaming machines having the same configuration atthe same time of day. These average revenues could be used to determinean overall optimal value for relevant time periods.

Some implementations of the invention control a gaming network inresponse to observed revenue obtained by gaming machines duringdifferent times and/or with different configurations. One such methodincludes these steps: determining a first rate of revenue obtained by afirst gaming machine of a plurality of gaming machines in the gamingnetwork during a first time when the first gaming machine has a firstconfiguration; transmitting second configuration information to thefirst gaming machine via the gaming network; configuring the firstgaming machine with a second configuration according to the secondconfiguration information; and determining a second rate of revenueobtained by the first gaming machine during a second time when the firstgaming machine has the second configuration.

The step of determining the first rate of revenue may involve receivingfirst revenue data from the first gaming machine via the gaming network,the first revenue data pertaining to the first time. In someimplementations of the invention, when it is determined that the firstrate of revenue is higher than the second rate of revenue, the methodfurther comprises these steps: transmitting third configurationinformation to the first gaming machine via the gaming network; andconfiguring the first gaming machine with a third configurationaccording to the second configuration information. The secondconfiguration information may be, for example, denomination information,display information, pay table percentage and/or game softwareinformation.

Another such method involves these steps: receiving revenue data from afirst gaming machine of a plurality of gaming machines in the gamingnetwork; determining a first rate of revenue obtained by the firstgaming machine during a first time when the first gaming machine has afirst configuration; determining a second rate of revenue obtained bythe first gaming machine during a second time when the first gamingmachine has a second configuration; determining an N^(th) rate ofrevenue obtained by the first gaming machine during an N^(th) time whenthe first gaming machine has an N^(th) configuration; and ascertaining afirst optimum configuration for the first gaming machine during a firsttime of day. The first optimum configuration corresponds with a highestrate of revenue determined for the first gaming machine during the firsttime of day.

The method may also involve scheduling the first gaming machine to beautomatically configured with the first optimum configuration during thefirst time of day. If the first gaming machine is part of a bank ofgaming machines, the method may involve scheduling each gaming machineof the bank of gaming machines to be automatically configured with thefirst optimum configuration during the first time of day.

The method may include these steps: ascertaining a second optimumconfiguration for the first gaming machine during a second time of day,the second optimum configuration corresponding with a highest rate ofrevenue determined for the first gaming machine during the second timeof day; and scheduling the first gaming machine to be automaticallyconfigured with the second optimum configuration during the second timeof day.

The method may include the following steps: receiving revenue data fromsecond through M^(th) gaming machines in the gaming network; determininga first average rate of revenue obtained by the second through M^(th)gaming machines during the first time when the second through M^(th)gaming machines have the first configuration; determining a secondaverage rate of revenue obtained by the second through M^(th) gamingmachines during a second time when the second through M^(th) gamingmachines have a second configuration; determining an N^(th) average rateof revenue obtained by the second through M^(th) gaming machines duringan N^(th) time when the second through M^(th) gaming machines have anN^(th) configuration; and ascertaining a first overall optimumconfiguration for the second through M^(th) gaming machines during apredetermined time of day. The first overall optimum configurationcorresponds with a highest average rate of revenue determined for thesecond through M^(th) gaming machines during the predetermined time ofday. The first optimum configuration may include a denomination, adisplay type, a pay table percentage and/or a game type.

Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail forpurposes of clarity of understanding, it will be apparent that certainchanges and modifications may be practiced within the scope of theappended claims. For instance, while the gaming machines of thisinvention have been depicted as upright models having top box mounted ontop of the main gaming machine cabinet, the use of gaming devices inaccordance with this invention is not so limited. For example, gamingmachine may be provided without a top box or the gaming machine may beof a slant-top or table top design.

We claim:
 1. A system for providing gaming services, comprising: aplurality of cameras for obtaining image data regarding people in ornear a gaming establishment, the cameras configured for communicationwith other devices via a network; and a server, comprising: at least onenetwork interface configured for communication with the network; and atleast one logic device configured to do the following: obtain, from theimage data, facial recognition data regarding a person from at least oneof the cameras via the network interface, without reference to theperson's voluntary participation in a player loyalty system; estimatethe person's expected economic value to the gaming establishment, basedat least in part on the facial recognition data; categorize the person,based at least in part on the expected economic value; and determinewhether to provide a benefit to the person according to thecategorization.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one logicdevice is further configured to do the following: obtain player indiciaregarding the person from a database; and categorize the person withreference to the facial recognition data and the player indicia.
 3. Thesystem of claim 1, further comprising means for tracking the person'slocation while the person is within, or in the vicinity of, the gamingestablishment, the tracking means comprising means for communicating theperson's location via the network.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein theplurality of cameras comprises a plurality of fingerprint scanners. 5.The system of claim 1, wherein at least one logic device is furtherconfigured to assign a rank to the patron, the rank depending at leastin part on the patron's expected economic value to the gamingestablishment.
 6. The system of claim 2, wherein the database comprisesa player loyalty system database.
 7. The system of claim 3, wherein thetracking means comprises a radio frequency identification network.
 8. Amethod of providing gaming services, comprising: obtaining first playerindicia regarding a person approaching or entering a gamingestablishment without reference to the person's voluntary participationin a player loyalty system, said first player indicia based at least inpart on facial recognition data of the person and obtained from imagedata captured by at least one of a plurality of cameras disposed in ornear a gaming establishment; categorizing the person with reference tothe first player indicia; and determining whether to provide a benefitto the person according to the categorization.
 9. The method of claim 8,wherein the obtaining step further comprises obtaining first playerindicia regarding a person near a gaming establishment.
 10. The methodof claim 8, wherein the categorizing involves data from a player loyaltysystem.
 11. The method of claim 8, further comprising: obtaining secondplayer indicia regarding the person with reference to a database; andcategorizing the person with reference to the first player indicia andthe second player indicia.
 12. The method of claim 8, wherein thebenefit comprises a comp or enhanced personal service.
 13. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the first player indicia include one or more ofclothing indicia, jewelry indicia, personal association indicia, andtipping indicia.
 14. The method of claim 8, wherein the categorizingstep comprises a determination of the person's expected economic valueto the gaming establishment.
 15. The method of claim 8, wherein thecategorizing step comprises assigning a rank to the person, the rankdepending at least in part on the person's expected economic value tothe gaming establishment.
 16. The method of claim 8, further comprisingtracking the person's location while the person is within, or in thevicinity of, the gaming establishment.
 17. The method of claim 8,further comprising associating a code with the person's data.
 18. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the categorizing and determining steps areperformed dynamically.
 19. The method of claim 9, wherein the firstplayer indicia include one or more of automobile indicia, clothingindicia, jewelry indicia, personal association indicia, tipping indiciaand purchasing indicia.
 20. The method of claim 10, wherein the databaseis a voluntary player loyalty system database.
 21. The method of claim10, wherein the database is a publicly available database.
 22. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the step of obtaining second player indiciais performed in response to first player indicia.
 23. A system forproviding gaming services, comprising: means for obtaining first playerindicia regarding a person approaching or entering a gamingestablishment without reference to the person's voluntary participationin a player loyalty system, said first player indicia based at least inpart on facial recognition data of the person and obtained from imagedata captured by at least one of a plurality of cameras disposed in ornear a gaming establishment; means for categorizing the person withreference to the first player indicia; and means for determining whetherto provide a benefit to the person according to the categorization. 24.The system of claim 23, wherein the player loyalty system comprises aplayer tracking system.
 25. The system of claim 23, further comprising:means for obtaining second player indicia regarding the person withreference to a database; and means for categorizing the person withreference to the first player indicia and the second player indicia. 26.The system of claim 23, wherein the categorizing means comprises meansfor determining the person's expected economic value to the gamingestablishment.
 27. The system of claim 23, wherein the categorizingmeans comprises means for assigning a rank to the person, the rankdepending at least in part on the person's expected economic value tothe gaming establishment.
 28. The system of claim 23, further comprisingmeans for tracking the person's location while the person is within, orin the vicinity of, the gaming establishment.
 29. The system of claim23, further comprising means for associating a code with the person'sdata.
 30. The system of claim 25, wherein the database is a voluntaryplayer loyalty system database.
 31. The system of claim 25, wherein thedatabase is a publicly available database.
 32. The system of claim 25,wherein the means for obtaining second player indicia is activated inresponse to first player indicia.